Heart Transplant (Zezra)
by Marialine
Summary: First Star Wars Rebels fanfic. Ezra have had some heart problems for the past few years. He needs a heart transplant, but will it change how he feels for a certain someone? Zeb X Ezra fanfic. Takes place in Season 1.
1. Heart Problems

**A/N This is my FIRST Star Wars Rebels fanfic. This takes place in Season 1 because I'm not really into the Season 2 and 3 of the series. ENJOY!**

**X**

It was a peaceful afternoon in Lothal. The ship of the Rebels, the Ghost, was parked at an empty field, away from the city to not get caught by the Imperials.

Hera Syndulla, the pilot of the Ghost, sat on the cockpit, talking with Fulcrum about their next mission.

In the dining room/kitchen, Sabin Wren, the team's painter/explosive expert, was playing a holo-game match against the team's droid, Chopper, who was getting cranky because of the fact that he was losing the match.

Kanan Jarrus, the team's leader, was in his cabin, meditating in peace. He was connecting himself with the force to ease his mind.

In his shared cabin, Ezra Bridger, the youngest in the team, was packing some of his things in his bag. He had an appointment somewhere, and he needed to leave before anyone noticed. Quick as a Loth-cat, he grabbed a trooper helmet and attempted to leave, only to be pushed back when something inside him clenched painfully. He gasped, losing breath as he sat back down and began to pant.

'I need to leave. NOW.' he thought to himself before letting out a sigh then he slowly stood up and made his way to the door.

As soon as the door opened, however, he was greeted by an unpleasant surprise.

"Zeb?!" Ezra was taken back.

"And where are you going, kid?" Garazeb Orrelios, the team's muscle, questioned with his arms folded in front of him.

"Out." Ezra hissed, crossing his arms and glaring at the Lasat.

"Out where?" Zeb raised an eyebrow.

"Just OUT." Ezra stood firm.

"Kid, you know that if anyone asks where you ran off to, they'll blame me for letting you out without knowing where you went,"

"It's none of you business, Zeb," Ezra pointed out.

"Might not be, but at least tell me why you're going out," Zeb grumbled.

"Ugh, fine," Ezra sighed. "I have an appointment,"

"What kind of appointment?" Zeb narrowed his eyes at the boy.

"Does it matter, Zeb?! I'm going to be late!" Ezra squeezed through an opening and passed the Lasat.

"Ezra—!" Zeb growled, but the boy was already out the door. "Karabast! He got away again! Argh…"

He clawed his face in frustration as he sat on his bunk. Before he could do anything, however, Ezra surprisingly came back.

"Hey, Zeb!"

"What?" Zeb moved his fingers to get a glimpse of the blunette.

"Tell Kanan I'm going to miss Jedi Training," Ezra said quickly. "I REALLY need to head out,"

"Fine," Zeb sighed. "but in one condition!"

Ezra let out a groan. "Fine, what is it?"

"You tell me what the hell is going on when you get back. Deal?"

"Deal." Ezra nodded then he dashed off. "Thanks, Zeb!"

He ran out to the hanger and exited the Ghost, dashing through the open field as he placed on the trooper helmet. He went to the nearest city and stole a jumpspeeder behind the stormtroopers' backs then he sped off. He dashed through and out of the city and headed to a tall white building, far, far from the Empire. After a while, he parked the speeder next to the entrance and ran inside. He went to the counter and came to a stop, panting in exhaustion.

"Dr… Dr Gaila Felinicia… please…" he voiced out, a little out of breath from the rush.

"You're a little late, sweetie, but she's still here," the alien behind the counter told him as she handed him a slip. "Office 23,"

"Th… Thanks," Ezra coughed to let himself breathe then he ran to the elevator.

He went in and spoke through the speaker. "Office 23, please,"

"[Office 23 confirmed.]" the elevator said before the door me closed then, unlike any other elevator, the elevator slid sideways at full speed. "[Office 23]"

The doors slid open, and Ezra stepped out of the elevator. He knocked on the office door lightly then the white door slid open to reveal an orange feline female alien with black glasses and chocolate brown eyes wearing a white doctor's coat with a stethoscope around her neck while her tail flickered behind her. (This is me in the story. Yay XD)

"You're later than usual," Dr Gaila Felinicia chuckled, placing a hand on her hips.

"Sorry, Dr Gia," Ezra rubbed the back of his neck and grinned. "I don't stay in Lothal very often anymore, so it's hard to keep track,"

"Very well," Gia sighed and turned to head back to her desk. "Come in,"

"Thanks, Doc," Ezra entered the office, the white door sliding to close as he went to the desk and sat on the chair behind it.

"Alright, let's start this checkup," Gia pulled out a clipboard and looked through the paper. "Right, our last appointment had been last year. Any changes?"

"Well, I think I'm getting better," Ezra snickered. "I mean, I ran all the way from where I'm living now to here. I think my heart problems are getting better,"

"You WHAT?!" Gia grabbed his wrist and dragged him out of the office, gritting her teeth in rage. "ARE YOU TRYING TO DIE EARLY?! WHAT IS THE MATTER WITH YOU, EZRA?!"

"Woah, take it easy!" Ezra cringed when his sleeve was grabbed with such strength, but he knew that the girl's grip was tight, even tighter than Zeb in comparison! "Uh, where are we going exactly?"

"The testing room," Gia grumbled as they entered the elevator. "Test Room 492. Dr Gaila Felinicia,"

"[Understood, Dr Gaila.]" the elevator doors closed. "[Test Room 492 confirmed and being prepared.]"

The elevator went sideways again, but this time, it was a little slower than when Ezra rode it. As they rode, Gia had let go of the boy, but she looked visibly upset.

"Doc, I'm sorry, but I have a job now that requires a lot of running," Ezra explained to her. "I'm training to be something against the empire,"

"Ezra, I understand, but you've got to rest more than run," Gia snarled. "Your condition is natural. You've had a heart disease ever since you were a child. I should know; your parents brought you in here when you were 2,"

"How should you know? You weren't even born yet when I was 2," Ezra furrowed his eyebrows.

"TECHNICALLY, I was born when you were 2," Gia chuckled. "I'm 2 years younger than you, remember?"

"And you still became a doctor when you were 6, when you inherited the hospital from your parents,"

"My ADOPTIVE parents," Gia hissed, her ears lowering. "My biological parents gave me away, remember?"

"Oh, right. Sorry," Ezra apologized.

"Eh, I killed them already anyway," Gia grinned.

"Excuse me, 'I'?" Ezra innocently questioned.

"Alright, alright," Gia laughed. "WE killed them already,"

"An accident, really, but at least they're gone," Ezra chuckled.

Gia shook her head. "We're going out-of-topic, Ezra. As your doctor, I'm concerned for your health. With every run, your heart pumps faster and faster. If you run too fast, your heart might pump so fast that it might not stop. If it doesn't stop, who knows what will happen. It might explode out of your chest or worse! It might pop out of your ribs and out of your mouth,"

"My mouth?!" Ezra shuddered. "I DO NOT want that image stuck in my head, thank you very much!"

"Then BE CAREFUL." Gia glared at him before sighing. "Speaking of which, how is your other condition coming along? You're not getting kidnapped or anything?"

"I do, but only because the Empire wants to use me against my new friends," Ezra shrugged.

"That's good, that's good…" Gia nodded slowly before turning away.

"Come on, Dr Gia," Ezra chuckled. "As if ANYONE would do anything like that to me. Look at me; I'm ugly!"

"Call yourself that, and be a person of irony, Bridger," Gia rolled her eyes. "Your slim, Ezra. You've got those shimmering apphire eyes and that flawless hair. Don't be surprised if psychos out there violate you, especially those who have lost their sanity to the Empire,"

"Are you liking my style, Doc?" Ezra raised an eyebrow.

"I'm bisexual, idiot." Gia huffed as the elevator stopped. "I'm single but more open to girls than playboys and Herm boys,"

"[Test Room 492.]" the elevator doors opened, and the two stepped out.

"Sorry," Ezra gave a sigh.

"Eh, I'm sure some guy out there would treat ya right," Gia smiled. "For now, let's take that test to see how you're doing,"

They entered a room that was pure white from ceiling to floor. A glass chamber was provided in the middle with a chair inside it. Gia opened the door of the chamber and let the blunette in. Once the door was shut, Ezra sat on the chair, and dozens of wires came down with a tablet connected to it. Gia stood across Ezra, ready with her clipboard and pen for any "side effects".

"Heart Check-Up, Outside And Inside, 13 Years, Patient FYSZ," she spoke, and the wires sparked with electricity, powering up the tablet, which started to scan Ezra from the top of his torso to his waist.

The padawan stood still, holding his breath as his heart beat a little faster than before. He gulped, with sweat running down his forehead as he shut his eyes when the scan lit up. Soon, the scan was finished, and the tablet was retracted.

"The results should be quick," Gia said as she let the boy out. "Let's head back to my office while we wait for them,"

The two traveled back to her office and waited patiently for test results. As they did, the two caught up with life. Ezra was even able to tell her his new job… as a Rebel!

"Wow, that's so cool!" Gia giggled. "But I'm also concerned by how much running you'll have to do because you have made yourself one of the most wanted creatures here in Lothal,"

"Yeah, yeah, I know," Ezra waved her off with a grin. "Man, you should join the crew some time. We'd love to have some medical help around,"

"I would, but being a doctor is only my part time job, remember?" Gia reminded him. "My full-time job is being General of the Protectors of Alternate Dimensions and Universes. I'm a Dimension/Universal/Space Traveler, as I've told you before,"

"Right, right, sorry," Ezra chuckled. "Kinda forgot you were busy,"

"Yeah…" Gia felt the tension in the air and was glad to see the Result Droid enter his office. "Oh look! The test results are here!"

"Oh yes!" Ezra was internally nervous, but he wanted to see the results so badly that he felt joy to see the paper handed to his old friend. "So what does it say?"

Gia scanned the paper before her eyes widened. She gasped, her hand in her mouth as she read on, tears forming by the corners of her eyes. Her breathing began to hitch, her tears clogging her throat as she started to hyperventilate.

Ezra noticed her expression, and his eyebrows furrowed. "So… what DOES it say, Dr Gia?"

"It's what I've been fearing…" Gia's voice shook. "Ezra, you've got rest up. These… These results are… I don't even want to believe it!"

"So… I'm guessing I'm not alright," Ezra frowned.

"Not alright at all," Gia shook her head with a sigh. "Ezra, these results say that your heart problems are getting worse than worse. Yes, you're not feeling the ache, but that's the worse part of it. If you can't feel it then the outer cover of your heart is numb, making it impossible for you to feel if your dying or not. Even through the numbness, the scan had calculated how long you have until either your heart bursts, or it stops beating,"

"And… how long do I have?" Ezra bit his bottom lip, worried.

"You have… only one month,"


	2. Asking Help

_'One month…'_

Ezra shuddered as he walked back to the Ghost. His hands trembled, and his eyes were starting to get watery while his breath hitched once in a while. His head was down, his misty eyes focused on the ground and glass below him as his mind reeled in his thoughts.

He'd have these heart problems for years now. He never would've thought he'd see or hear the day that they would catch up to him.

What would the crew think? What would they say? How would they react? Will they just dump him in Lothal to die alone, or would they find a way to keep him in the crew because he was force-sensitive? He would never know. He could barely speak about his condition.

Every time he ran, he felt his heart clenching and pumping quicker than it should be. It ached him, but he had to keep running. He had to ignore the signs to keep him guard and ego up, and now, he was paying the price of it.

Soon, he made it to the Ghost. He walked through the hanger and past Kanan, who was looking over at the crates they took the previous day.

"Hey, Ezra, where've you been?" He asked his padawan. "Zeb said you went out, but he didn't specify where,"

'Thank god for that.' Ezra sighed and turned to him. "Just went off to my comm tower to see the place, Kanan. Just got little fresh air too. It helps me relax,"

"Alright, if you say so…" Kanan felt like the boy was lying, but he didn't wanna bother him, so he just shrugged it off. "We have a busy day tomorrow. Since you missed Jedi Training today, you'll have to train extra tomorrow,"

"Will do!" Ezra saluted with a forced smile before heading up to leave. 'EXTRA Jedi Training? Dr Gia's going to KILL me when she finds out…'

He grabbed a snack or two in the kitchen, placing the trooper helmet down on the table as he ate. He was so lost in thought with his condition that he didn't notice Sabine enter.

"Oh, hey, Ezra," she greeted, snapping him from his thoughts.

"O-Oh, hey, Sabine," Ezra waved at her awkwardly. "How long have you been here?"

"Just came here, kid," Sabine chuckled. "You seemed to have your head up in the clouds. Something wrong?"

"Uh… n-no, it's nothing," Ezra dismissed the topic quickly, so the Mandalorian wasn't suspicious or curious enough to ask more questions. "But, um, have you seen Zeb? I need to talk to him,"

"In his and your room," Sabine shrugged. "Napping, as usual,"

"Thanks, Sabine," Ezra then rushed off.

He ran to his and Zeb's room then he knocked on the door. He sighed as he was answered by nothing but snoring, so he just opened the door and found the Lasat sleeping on his bunk.

'Sabine wasn't kidding when she said that he was napping. Again…' Ezra rolled his eyes with a grin.

He stepped inside, but as soon as his foot creaked on the floor, Zeb's ear flickered before he opened one eye and groaned, turning towards his roommate.

"Finally, you're back," he forced himself up with a grunt, rubbing the back of his neck as he yawned and stared at the other with both eyes open. "You were gone for the whole day. Where've you been?"

"Out," Ezra sighed, the automatic door closing as he walked towards the Lasat.

"That's what you said earlier," Zeb crossed his arms. "We had a deal. Now, you have to tell me what's going on,"

"Fine…" Ezra sat beside him and leaned against the small metal ladder. "I went to the hospital,"

"The hospital?" Zeb's eyebrows furrowed. "What hospital? And why?"

"Let me finish." Ezra growled.

Zeb groaned. "Fine… you can keep going,"

"Now," Ezra clearer his throat and continued. "I went to the National Hospital of Lothal. It's right across the city. It doesn't belong to the Empire since the owner of it has a lot of credits to pay the Empire to forbid them from buying or taking it. I went there to have a follow-up with my doctor, Dr Gaila Felinicia. My parents used to take me there every year, ever since I was two. When I turned eight, that's when I began going there all by myself,"

"That's why you brought the trooper helmet with you," Zeb began to understand with a nod. "So the Imperials don't spot you when you go through the city,"

"Exactly!" Ezra beamed in relief, but as soon as he remembered the news of the check-up, his smile immediately turned into a frown. "But… that's only the good news. Sure, the Imperials didn't see me, but after my check-up and a test, I… I got some not-so-great news…"

"What is it?" Zeb raised an eyebrow.

"I…" Ezra swallowed, his voice stopping as his tears returned, with his hands trembling before he bit his bottom lip. "I… uh…"

He tried so hard to get the words out, but his voice didn't budge. The news had shaken him up badly, and he was still shaken up by it. How could he tell Zeb when Zeb could easily tell the others too?

"Kid, what happened?" Ezra was brought out of my thoughts by the worry in Zeb's voice as he looked down at me. "What did you find out?"

"I…" the blunette felt his tears start to run, so he tried to wipe them then he looked down to avoid eye contact. "It's… It's hard to tell…"

"Ezra, I don't like it when you don't talk out loud," Zeb shook his head. "You're worrying me more than you should,"

"I… I'm sorry… Zeb…" Ezra gave a sigh with a shaky breath as he rubbed his upper limbs. "It's just that… I… even I can't believe the news…"

"What is it?" Zeb asked, more firmly this time.

"I… You have to promise to not tell anyone," Ezra pleaded. "PLEASE! Don't tell the others yet,"

Zeb was about to oppose until he saw the tears in the boy's eyes. He groaned, dragging his hand down his face before sighing.

"Fine, fine!" He let out a growl under his breath. 'Dammit, kid! Why must you be so adorably pitiful?!'

Ezra's eyes lit up, his sapphire orbs shimmering with hope. He placed his bag on his lap and opened it then he pulled out a sheet of paper and handed it to the Lasat. He leaned back on the ladder to his bunk, closing his eyes as he waited for his roommate's reaction.

Zeb took the paper and scanned it. He noticed a strange, unfamiliar symbol on top, but he assumed that it was the hospital's logo, so he ignored it. He saw the name of the doctor; Dr. Gaila Felinicia. He then saw the messy handwriting prescription from the doctor. He could barely read it, so he skipped it and went to look at the digitally-written results of the test.

Patient Name: FYSZ (Ezra Bridger)

Age: 15

Vital Status: Abnormal Numbness

Pulse: Unstable

Veins: Fast Circular Flow

Heart: Undetected

Life Support: Light

Diseases List:

-Anemia: Negative

-Leukemia: Negative

-Heart Cancer: Positive

Overall Conclusion: Patient has unstable heart beats and frequent minor and major heart attacks for the past 13 years. Estimation of time to live; one month.

The Lasat's jaw dropped and his emerald eyes widened. He couldn't get a good grip on the paper and almost let go of it as he slowly turned to Ezra.

The padawan sensed his reaction and opened his eyes with a sigh. He gave a small nod before hugging himself.

"Yeah, I… I'm not going to live very long with you guys…" he shakily spoke, his lips quivering with every word.

"You've has this for… 13 years?!" Zeb cried out. "Why didn't you tell us?!"

"I… I was scared," Ezra was starting to tremble, hiccuping the tears threatening to roll down his eyes. "Scared that after you guys would found out, you'd kick me off the ship and let me rot in Lothal. I… I kinda forgot about over the years since I haven't gotten any heart attacks, but ever since I started training with Kanan and going on missions with the crew, I… I've been running a lot, and that's not good for me, apparently,"

"Oh…" Zeb's ears lowered. "Look, kid, we didn't mean to—"

"I know," Ezra forced in a smile as he shyly looked back up at the Lasat. "It was MY choice to join the crew. This is MY fault. I… I have to deal with this myself,"

"No, you don't," Zeb growled before slapping a hand on the boy's shoulder. "Look, you might not want to tell the others about all this, but I want in on it,"

"Y-You?!" Ezra was taken back, his eyes widening as a light blush appeared on his cheeks. "W-Why would you want to help me?"

"Other than the fact that since we share the same room, the others would be bombarding me with questions on why you left and where you went off to," Zeb chuckled, earning a glare from the padawan. "I want to help you. I mean, sure, we aren't as close as you to Kanan or you to Sabine, but I still want to make sure you're okay. I may act mean, but that doesn't mean I don't care. It's just how I am,"

By the time the Lasat finished, Ezra's anger melted and his face burnt in surprise with his eyes wider than saucers.

Out of everyone in the Ghost Crew, he would NEVER imagine ZEB would be the one to help him. Sure, he had a feeling that the Lasat Warrior was tough in the outside but a real softie in the inside, yet he would never actually imagine the day Zeb would do something as nice as this.

In a flash, he gave Zeb a warm, tight hug, his tears of joy flowing down his cheeks as he gritted his teeth with a hiss.

"Thank you, Zeb! Thank you!"

Zeb felt his cheeks heat up in surprise, but he slowly hugged back then he pulled away and gave a hearty chuckle.

"No problem, kid,"


	3. Hidden Love

**Sorry for the Short chapter!**

**X**

[EZRA POV]

I felt like I was in cloud nine. My heart was thumping fast and hard in my chest, partly aching because of my condition. The soft smile on my roommate's face made me internally squeal as I begin to unconsciously smile wider than I expected.

For weeks, I have had some… complication with my feelings. And no, it wasn't because of my heart cancer. It was because I was starting to feel something… different. Different good or different bad, I have no idea. What I DID know was that I wasn't looking at Zeb with a friendly or a brotherly admiration. It was something worse. Deeper, even.

I was in love. I knew I was. It's the same feeling my mother explained to me when she was talking about how she fell for my father.

"…so, what can I do to help?" I snap out of my thoughts and find that Zeb had been looking at me with a raised eyebrow.

"O-Oh! R-Right…" To be honest, I never once had a thought of what Zeb might do to help me, but I'm sure Dr Gia's got something. She always does.

I take the prescription from where Zeb placed it when he hugged me, which I still can't BELIEVE had happened, then I look at what Dr Gia had written down.

"Hmm… Dr Gia wrote down that I need a heart transplant," I say, and his eyes widen before grabbing the paper out of my hands. "What the— Hey!"

"How in the world can you even read this?!" he narrows his eyes, and he tilts the paper to try to understand Dr Gia's messy handwriting. "It's like doodles!"

"It's called Cursive," I chuckle. "And I can read it because I'm used to her writing words that way,"

"Argh," Zeb finally gives up and hands off the paper back to me. "Anyway, if you need a heart transplant, why didn't this… Dr Gia give you one already?"

"She doesn't have a healthy heart in store to replace with mine," I sigh. "And there hasn't been any donations whatsoever, so she can't give me anything,"

"Oh, I see," Zeb starts to think, his eyes wondering to the ceiling. "Hmm… where else can we find a healthy human heart?"

We think about it for a while then a thought suddenly comes to my mind.

"The Black Market!" I exclaim. "There are tons of illegal organ trading there! Plus it's a little cheaper than the original bargain,"

"The Black Market, huh?" Zeb's face twists in disgust. "Let's just hope we ain't buying from Vizago. I'm going to end him, if I EVER see him again,"

"Alright, let's make sure we aren't trading with Vizago then," I giggle.

"But how do we search?" Zeb questions me. "Hera and Sabine are possibly in the common room with Kanan and Chopper, so we can't use the holo-search,"

"Well, I guess we'll search tonight," I tell him.

He raises an eyebrow at me. "Tonight?"

"Yes, tonight," I nod. "While everyone's asleep, we can sneak into the common room to use the holo-search,"

"That could work," he nods at me with a smile.

"Great!" I grin before I place the paper in my bag then I set my bag down on the floor and head up to the top bunk. "First, we should get some sleep to not seem tired and exhausted tomorrow,"

"Then you might want to wake me up later," Zeb lays back and yawns.

"Yeah," I chuckle. "you can be such a heavy sleeper. And you snore too loud!"

"Hey!" I hear him snarl, making me laugh before I turn and let my sleep consume me.

We are going to have a busy night ahead…

[ZEB POV]

Soon, I hear the kid snoring. Not as loud as mine, but at least I knew he was asleep.

I lay on my bunk, looking up at the bottom of the top bunk. I couldn't sleep a wink, and that was saying something.

I nap almost every time I had my free hours. I do that since I've been tired frequently because of our missions, and trust me, our missions are getting way too hard to handle. Even for me.

Especially when Ezra came.

From the moment he set foot in this ship, I knew our life wasn't going to be the same, and I was right. Things haven't been the same. Sabine seemed both irritated and joyful on the attention she and her art are getting from Ezra. Hera felt happy to have a young boy with us, letting out the inner mother in her, and Chopper's glad to have someone to mess with other than me. Also Kanan's got a padawan to worry about, but eh, Kanan's always been the worried one.

Out of all the things to change in our lives, however, I would never expect myself to be the one to change too.

Thanks to the kid, I was getting all soft and mushy around everyone. He brought out the worst in me and even the softest in me. I don't know why, but I hate him so much because of him changing me, yet I don't want anything bad to happen to him.

Weird, right?

What's worse is that every time he smiles at me with his genuine smile, he makes me smile back. My stomach begins to churn, and I feel like I'm either going to vomit, or I'm going to faint since my head begins to spin too.

Can you guess what's the terrible part? I know exactly why I'm feeling this way.…

I'm starting to have feelings… for the kid.

And when there's love, there's always trouble. I really mean the word 'trouble', this time. I'm not even exaggerating.

How? Easy; I get jealous whenever Sabine gets all of Ezra's attention. Don't think of me weird or anything. I mean, we all get jealous, don't we?

Anyway, as I was lost in my thoughts, I didn't notice that I was falling asleep. The only time I noticed was a couple of hours later. I was awoken by someone shaking me. Softly, but quickly.

"Zeb! Zeb! Wake up!"

Karabast! Why did I have to wake up to the sound of his… argh, again with my feelings thinking out for me?! Ugh…

I groan and force my eyelids open to see Ezra looking down at me with his eyebrows furrowed. I rub my eyes and sit up.

"Mm… is it late already?" I ask with a yawn.

"Yeah, and the others went to bed hours ago," he tells me as he stands straight up and turns to the door. "Come on! We don't have all night,"

"Right, right…" I force myself off my bed then we sneak out of our room and into the halls.

We carefully walk to the common room and slid down on the seat. I turn on the holo-search, and he enters a website. The next thing I knew, we are staring at a black website with posts of drugs and other illegal stuff. My eyes widen as I gasp. He chuckles at my reaction.

"Never seen the black market website before?" he asks me.

"No, never," I shake my head. "We usually get missions related to the black market trade, but we've never actually seen the website,"

"This is where I sell things I steal," he tells me. "I usually sell them to someone in the black market since it's easier,"

"I guess," I shrug as he flips through the website and heads to the search. "I really wish we won't run into Vizago,"

"Don't worry," he giggles. "This search has a filter,"

Damn it. Why did his giggles have to be so freaking adorable?

I gulp in the urge to blush as I bite my bottom lip to force myself to focus on what we're searching. He types in 'healthy human heart' then he presses the search button. Immediately, a whole list of sellers appear, all with each different deals. My eyes widen.

"Woah!" I scan the list, looking at the list from left to right. "How will we find the right one?"

"The right heart comes with the right deal of credits," he winks at me before scrolling.

I just watch him as he scrolls, a sigh escaping my lips. He doesn't seem to notice as I stare at him.

[EZRA POV]

He's staring at me… goddamn it, why is he staring at me?!

I gulp, trying to keep myself focused on what I was searching for as Zeb keeps staring at me with half-idled eyes.

Just ignore him… just ignore him… just ignore him… but he's staring at me! He's staring at me! Oh my god, he's staring at me!

I look over at him to see that he hasn't notice me turning. Confused, I break him out of his trance.

"Uh, you okay, Zeb?"

"Hmm?" he blinks at me, but he just shrugs it off. "Yeah, why you ask? I've just been looking over at what you were scrolling,"

I narrow my eyes at him in suspicion, but I soon ignore it before turning back to my search. As I did, I feel a shiver run down my spine, and I glance quickly to see Zeb staring directly at ME instead of the holo-screen. I feel my cheeks beginning to heat up as I TRY to focus on what I'm doing.

Please, emphasize on 'try'. Ugh, maybe I'll just check how much each of these hearts are then…

Soon, I get busy looking at the prices that I am able to ignore Zeb's stare.

Like, holy moly, who would NOT get caught up with all the prices?! I mean, 12 thousand credits? 1 million credits?! For a human heart?! Damn, no wonder the National Hospital of Lothal is running out of human organs. Their expensive!

I begin to focus more on the prices, my eyes widening with each high price until I come upon a very familiar name on the seller's list…

"Ferpil?"


	4. Old Ally, Risky Deal

[ZEB POV]

"Ferpil?"

I finally stop staring at him and turn to actually look at the holo-screen. I see an guy on the seller's profile with a long, thin neck and an small, egg-shaped head.

"Who's he?" I ask.

"He's… someone I knew and sold the stuff I stole to before," Ezra sighs and shakes his head. "I thought he was dead, though…"

"Why?"

"Last time I saw him, it was two days before I met you guys," he clicks the offer and scans it. "Hmm… he's got a healthy human heart? I'm starting to worry where he got that from…"

"Not you, obviously," I tease.

He chuckles in response. "Yeah, yeah, not from me, but he knew a bunch of other humans who'd steal to sell to him. I'm actually kinda afraid that it was one of their hearts,"

"Eh, a heart's a heart," I shrug.

"And its only 1 thousand credits," he concludes. "Much cheaper than the other ones I've seen,"

"I feel like that's a fake," I snarl, cautious as usual.

"Maybe…" he seems to think about it before he clicks on the seller's contacts. "But it's better to know than assume the worst, I guess,"

"Eh, I guess," Well, as long as he knew the guy, I guess I can lower my guard a bit…

Suddenly, we're facing the seller, his eyes widening when he saw Ezra.

"Ah, if it isn't my old friend," the guy smiled in an uncomfortable way. "Ezra Bridger. What a nice surprise!"

"Nice to see you too, Ferpil Wallaway," Ezra speaks, letting me learn the guy's full name. "I see that you found a human heart to sell. Should I be concerned on who it belongs to?"

"No, no! It's fine, Ezra," Ferpil replies with a grin. "One of the bounty hunters sold it to me when he was able to take one from an imperial officer,"

Alright, that was an info I didn't need to learn.

I give a look to Ezra, and he holds in his urge to vomit just to keep a straight face on. I smirk.

Looks like he ain't taking the info well either.

"Well, um, that didn't make me feel any better," Ezra shudders. "But, uh, anyway, I see that the organ's only a thousand credits. What's the catch?"

"No catch, old friend," Ferpil replies. "Just doing business. Besides, I got this for 10 credits, so a thousand credits is already expensive,"

"Fair enough," Ezra sighs.

"But," Ferpil smirks. "how about a little arrangement? Exclusive to you, my old trader,"

I glare at the seller while Ezra raises an eyebrow. "What kind of arrangement?"

"Easy," Ferpil chuckles. "I give you the heart, well-packaged and secured, and you don't need to pay me any credits. Just a trade of… something else…"

"What kind of something?" Ezra narrows his eyes.

"Hmm… what about that Lasat?" He points to me, and my eyes widen. "I mean, Lasats are rare nowadays, ever since the destruction of their planet…"

"My friend is NOT trading material, Ferpil." Ezra growls.

"Fine, fine," Ferpil sighs, possibly defeated. "How about… a heart for a heart?"

'A heart for a heart?' I think about his words, feeling uneasy.

"So… you want to trade the heart you have… with another heart?" Ezra questions.

"Yes, that simple," Ferpil cackles. "It can be any heart. I need it to sell for 20 thousand credits!"

Ugh, I hate when these people only care about their business.

I was about to speak up my opinion when Ezra speaks up first. "It's a deal."

"Good," Ferpil grins. "Where can we meet?"

"I'm here in Lothal, but I don't know for how long,"

"I'll actually be in Lothal soon with another old friend of mine. Maybe when we cross paths, I'll give you the heart then you'll give me the trade,"

"The other one might take a while," Ezra scratches his head.

"I'll be in Lothal for a week. That's the only time you have, or else I'll take back the heart," Ferpil growls.

"A week, it is," This kid is insane. How can we find another heart in a week?!

"See you there, Ezra," With that, the screen goes blank.

I grab the kid by the shoulders and shake him vigorously. "What is the matter with you?! Where and how are we going to find another heart in a week?!"

"My diseased heart, duh," Ezra answers with an eye roll. "Once we get the heart from Ferpil, we'll take it to the hospital and give it to Dr Gia. Once she has it, she'll have to perform the surgery immediately then you take my old heart to Ferpil,"

"That's… pretty smart," I begin to think over his plan as I let go off him. "But won't Ferpil notice?"

"He only cares that it's a heart. He didn't say whether it's healthy or not,"

"Fair enough," I chuckle and ruffle his hair. "Looks like you know a lot more about business than you look, kid,"

"Been in the business for 8 years, after all," he winks at me. "Now, come on. Let's get to bed before Kanan finds out that I'm still awake. You know how good he can track me,"

"Yeah, I know," I snicker as we stand up and slip through the halls to enter our room.

He lets out a yawn while he heads up to his bunk. I lay on my bed and hear him snoring in seconds. I sigh and turn to face the wall, but something was bothering me.

I mean, sure, Ezra knows Ferpil, but what if the guy's got something behind his back? It's still possible. If I learned anything about this kid, it's that he doesn't trust anyone. Why does he trust Ferpil then? I mean, yeah, he just outsmarted the deal, but still.

I try to close my eyes, but I can't sleep a wink. I let out a groan, rubbing my eyes to try to fall asleep.

This is going to be a LONG sleepless night…

{MEANWHILE}

[??? POV]

I press a contact on my keyboard, and the imperial agent, Agent Kallus, appears on the screen.

"State your business, trader." he hisses.

"I've got a deal for you, Agent," I say with a toothy grin. "100 thousand credits if I hunt down the Rebels and successfully kill at least 1 of them,"

"Good luck with that, but if you ever succeed then the credits are yours," Kallus folds his arms. "Give us your name and location to where the Rebels might be heading,"

"They are in Lothal," I reply. "and my name is Ferpil Wallaway,"


	5. The Trading Game

[Normal POV]

The Ghost and it's crew had been on Lothal for nearly a week now. They've been waiting for that long for an old trader of theirs, Cikatro Vizago, boss of the Broken Horn.

Fulcrum had told Hera and Kanan that Vizago was the only one who had intel to the Empire's Battle Plans And Battle Ships. Vizago wouldn't let Fulcrum have it, so they arranged a deal that the Ghost would get the crates that Vizago wanted in exchange for the intel.

At the moment, Zeb, Sabine and Chopper were in the middle of playing a holo-game in the common room. Ezra And Kanan were training outside with their lightsabers and Hera stayed in the cockpit for any updates on Vizago or Fulcrum.

Ezra's Jedi Training was getting more intense than Ezra had prepared for. His was heart pumping fast, which he worried about as he used his lightsaber to block Kanan's. He was scared that either his heart stops, and he dies right there and then, or his heart beats so fast that he vomits it out of his mouth. Those thoughts were NOT the best to think about.

"Ezra, focus!" Kanan's instructions weren't doing Ezra any good either as the Jedi attacked, surprising the Padawan, who had to block immediately. "You can't lose focus of what you're doing!"

"S-Sorry, Kanan!" Ezra apologized as he took back his lightsaber and did his attack, which the other blocked quickly. 'My heart is RACING and CLENCHING in pain! Dr Gia's going to go INSANE when she finds out!'

As they trained, Zeb had walked out of the ramp to see them. His eyes slightly widened to see Ezra sweating hard and breathing fast. He gave a groan.

'That kid's gonna kill himself earlier than he expects.' He shook his head before coming closer to the duo. "Hey, Kanan! Hera's calling you!"

Kanan nodded and kept his lightsaber in his belt then he turned to his exhausted Padawan. "Training's done for today. We'll have sparring tomorrow. Clear?"

"Mm-hmm…" Ezra panted with heavy breaths. "Got it!"

"Good," Kanan felt something odd in the teen's condition, but he kept his mouth shut as he walked away. 'What is he hiding…?'

As soon as the Jedi left, Zeb let out a sigh and headed over the boy, who kept his lightsaber on his belt while choking on his breathing.

"Woah, take it easy, kid," the Lasat patted him on the back to help.

Ezra gasped, losing his breath for a while before regaining it a few minutes later, with it being more stable than earlier. He coughed and wheezed a bit then he cleared his throat and stood straight up.

"Th-Thanks," he said with a final cough.

"You've got to control how much you use your energy if you're going to live for at least 2 weeks, you know," Zeb teased.

"Yeah, yeah," Ezra rolled his eyes playfully. "Man, Kanan's been going hard on me these past few days. What gives?"

"I think it's about 'being prepared when the Inquisitor comes' or something like that," Zeb shrugged.

"Well, if I'm dead then we won't be prepared to face the Inquisitor at all," Ezra groaned.

"Hey, you two!" The duo turned to see Sabine waving over at them. "Hera's calling a meeting in the common room!"

"That's our cue to leave," Ezra sighed before trotting over to the Ghost.

Zeb shook his head and followed behind him. 'At this rate, the kid's not going to last long…'

The trio made it to the common room, where Hera was waiting for them with Chopper beside her and Kanan sitting down.

"Good, you made it," Hera sighed in relief as the three sat beside Kanan. "Now, as you know, Fulcrum had given us a mission for a trade with Vizago since he's the only one with the intel we need for a new secret weapon of the Empire. I just got a call today from Vizago, and he told us his location. He's here in Lothal with an old friend of his, and we'll be meeting up with him later on,"

"What's in the crates?" Zeb questioned.

"Yeah, we haven't really opened them since we took them," Sabine agreed.

"Fulcrum stated that they're old weapons that the Empire's reviving to use against us," Kanan replied. "We don't know what kind, but it doesn't matter. All it matters is that we trade it to Vizago for some credits and the intel we need. No more, no less. Clear?"

"What do you mean 'it doesn't matter'?" Ezra glared at his master. "It DOES matter to know what we're trading, so it's easy to threaten Vizago if he backs down from the deal,"

"And it's good to know that what we're selling is worth the trouble we got into when we took 'em from the Empire," Zeb added, folding his arms.

"It's unfair how you and Hera are the only ones with the proper intel while the rest of us have to just stand by and wait for your orders," Sabine went on, frowning. "Are we part of this crew or not?"

"You are, but this is for everyone's safety, Sabine," Hera sternly said. "We get the intel from Fulcrum, and the rest goes on,"

"Argh," the Mandalorian stood up and stomped to her room without another word.

Ezra shook his head. He knew trading better than anyone in the crew. Not knowing what they had could be a risk.

"So when do we leave?" Zeb asked.

"The sooner, the better," Kanan answered. "We need to get the intel from Vizago as soon as possible,"

{LATER}

The crew were dragging the crates out through the field and to the meeting point Vizago had sent. Sabine was still upset, so she didn't talk for the rest of the way while Ezra and Zeb exchanged a look of worry, both thinking of the same thing.

They needed to get the trade from Ferpil soon.

After walking a mile or two, the crew found Vizago's ship just nearby a bunch of large stones.

"Looks like this intel is really important, huh," Ezra observed.

"Too important to tell us?" Sabine scowled. "I doubt it."

"You've been like that for the whole time we were walking," Zeb pointed out. "What gives?"

"I just think that Hera and Kanan should trust us more with the intel they're getting from this Fulcrum," Sabine sighed. "It would be better if we all knew, won't it?"

Chopper let out a couple of beeps in response. The Mandalorian snarled at him.

"So, you know about Fulcrum too, huh, Chopper?" the droid gave a positive response, but the girl's reaction was far from positive. "Ugh, what is up with all the secrecy?!"

'Secrets are meant to be kept for the safety of others…' Ezra sighed, shaking his head.

Zeb ignored the girl's question and just trotted forward to catch up with Hera and Kanan.

Soon, they were facing the trader, his sharp teeth shimmering as he smirked when he saw the crates.

"Ah," He cackled. "You brought the goods,"

"In exchange of the intel that Fulcrum wants as much as we do," Hera replied with her arms folded. "And some credits wouldn't be a bother either,"

"A bother, huh?" a familiar voice from behind Vizago let out a chuckle. "I think it does, Captain,"

Vizago grinned as the creature stepped forward and beside him. "Ah, yes. My friends, this is the old friend of mine that I told you about; Ferpil Wallaway,"

Ezra gasped, and Zeb growled the moment they saw the familiar seller they saw on the black market website. Ferpil recognized them, and a chilly smile stretched across his face.

"Ezra Bridger, long time, long see," he went to the boy and placed a hand on his shoulder. "I see that you went from selling stolen goods to being a rebel against the Empire,"

"Says the one who disappeared without a trace after the illegal fighting championship was founded out by the Empire," Ezra shot back with a slight glare at the other.

"At least we both earned credits on that, didn't we?" Ferpil chuckled. "Come, Ezra, I would like to speak with you,"

He took the boy by the shoulders and led him away from the crew. Kanan narrowed his eyes at them, but before he could follow, Zeb stopped him.

"I'll keep an eye on the kid," he volunteered.

The Jedi nodded then the Lasat followed Ferpil and Ezra to a nearby field. Ferpil has a box in his hands and was holding it out when Zeb came forward.

"That must be the trade," the honor guard spoke.

"Yes, indeed," Ferpil replied before handing it over to the boy. "Now, remember our deal, Ezra,"

"I remember," Ezra rolled his eyes, handing the box to the Lasat then he took out the blaster he took from the crates that he took when he first met the crew. "How about a second trade, for old time's sake?"

Zeb's eyes widened, recognizing the blaster in the teen's hand. Before he could say anything, however, Ferpil smirked and spoke first.

"Ah, yes," He snickered. "How much for it then, Ezra? Two thousand credits?"

"I vote six thousand," Ezra insisted. "Either that or I'll sell this to Vizago for 10,"

"Sneaky Bridger," Ferpil grinned as he took out the amount of credits he needed from his pocket. "You don't change, do you, my boy?"

"I don't, and I never will," Ezra took the money and handed the blaster.

"Nice doing business with you then," Ferpil then turned and walked back, leaving the two alone.

"Since when did you sneak that blaster out?" Zeb questioned.

"When you pushed me in the closet, I was able to take it," Ezra answered with a quirky grin. "I put it in my bag before hitting the vents,"

"You don't cease to impress, kid, you know that?" Zeb smirked.

"I do, actually," Ezra giggled. "Now, come on. I'm sure we can make it to Capital City before late afternoon. We then can steal two jump-speeders to use to head over to the hospital, so we can give this to Dr Gia as soon as possible,"

"Fine," Zeb nodded then the two headed towards the city.

{MEANWHILE}

"What do you mean the intel still needs to be delivered?" Kanan hissed at the trader with a dark glare.

"I don't memorize all my intel, you know," Vizago calmly responded. "I've left mine, so it needs to be delivered here,"

"How long for the delivery?" Here raised an eyebrow.

"About a week, or so," Vizago grinned.

"A week?!" Sabine was ready to attack, so Kanan held her back.

"The intel SHOULD be here in a week, or the weapons are heading back in our ship," the Jedi snarled.

"You can't be so certain that they will return in your ship," Ferpil cackled. "You are no good in business, you know. You should ask Ezra for advice. He knows how to settle a deal quite well,"

Chopper shook his metal head and quickly pushed one of the closer crates then he dragged them back to the ship with a frustrated beep. Sabine noticed this and smirked.

"Looks like Chopper's found a way to make things fair," she pointed to the droid carrying the crate.

Vizago growled and was about to scowl when Ferpil placed a gentle hand on his shoulder.

"She's right, you know," he said before facing the crew. "Fair enough. In a week, you'll give us the last crate in exchange to the intel. Deal?"

"Deal." Hera nodded, shaking the other's hand.

"Good." Ferpil grinned before the two groups separated, and the Ghost crew made their way to their ship.

"We told you that this was a bad idea, but neither of you listen." Sabine hissed then she ran inside the Ghost, leaving Hera and Kanan to sigh and follow behind her, neither of them noticing that the Lasat and the boy were missing.


	6. Tricky Traitors

[EZRA POV]

"Woah!" I turn to see Zeb trying to keep balance on his jump-speeder, making me giggle with a light blush.

This Lasat's adorable~

"How long until we get there?" He asks as he uses the jump-speeder we stole to catch up with my jump-speeder while making sure the box was secured in his hands.

"It's not much farther," I reply then I soon spot a white building. "Bingo! There it is! The National Hospital of Lothal! I see it! Come on! We're almost there!"

I make my jump-speeder go faster, making Zeb groan before making his jump-speeder speed up too. We race to the front of the hospital, parking near the entrance then we get off and run inside. I go straight to the front desk.

"Dr Gaila Felinicia, please," I say.

"You've got no appointment today, sweetie," the alien replies. "Any reason to see her today?"

"We've got something to deliver to her," I point to the box in Zeb's hands. "It's for my heart transplant,"

"Oh, I see," she smiles and hands me the slip. "Office 23,"

"Thank you!" I take the slip then we walked into the elevator. "Office 23, please,"

"[Office 23 confirmed.]" the elevator begins to slowly slide sideways.

"Strange elevator," Zeb comments.

"I know, right?" I snicker. "But then again, it makes the hospital much more spacious and easier to travel around,"

"Fair enough, but sliding sideways?" Zeb raises an eyebrow.

"It can go up, down, sideways, and diagonal," I wink at him. "It depends in which room you need to go, but since we're going to Dr Gia's Office, we'll be going sideways,"

He blushes when I winked at him, making me giggle.

See how adorable he ya whenever he gets off-guarded with simple gestures? Don't know why he blushed, though, but I sure wanna find out.

"Is this Dr Gia even trustworthy?" He suddenly asks, clearing away his blush.

I shrug. "Yeah, she kinda is. I mean, she was able to keep this hospital stable, even when the Empire wants it so badly. She hates the Empire, actually. She just plays nice, so she doesn't get arrested,"

"Plays nice, huh?" Zeb chuckles. "For how long?"

"Let's see… Hmm…" I begin to count the many years she's been in change of the hospital. "7 years, at least? She inherited this place when she was 6, right after the Empire took away her parents,"

I hear a growl, and I turn to see Zeb looking irritated. "Damn the Empire. They take away everything from everyone,"

"She's fine, Zeb, and so am I," I reassure him, knowing exactly why he was acting like that.

I mean, we were just kids when the Empire took our parents away. Even I'd be angry, but I've learned to keep my cool, so I don't, like, lose control of the force and turn into a Sith.

"[Office 23.]" the elevator stops, and the door opens.

"Come on," I motion him to follow me to a white door, which I knocked on. "Dr Gia, it's me, Ezra,"

"Ez?" The door slides open, and Dr Gia steps out, a confused look on her face as her tail flicks behind her. "What are you doing here? And… omg!"

She turns to Zeb with a gasp. "Is this a LASAT?! I haven't seen one since my travels!"

"Yeah, this is my friend, Zeb," I introduce.

"'Friend', huh?" Dr Gia grins and raises an eyebrow. "I surely doubt that…"

My cheeks heat up, and my eyes widen before I glare at her with a growl. Zeb looks confused.

"Uh," he speaks up. "What is she talking ab—"

"Nothing!" I snap all of a sudden. "It's nothing! Really!"

"Yeah, sure…" Dr Gia giggles as she turns around. "Well, since you're already here, you guys should come in,"

"Th-Thanks, Doc," I hide my face with a groan while we enter the office, the door shutting behind us as she goes behind her desk, and we sit down.

"Now, tell me why you guys are here," Dr Gia asks.

"We've got the heart for the recommended transplant," I tell her, pointing to the crate in Zeb's hands.

"The heart? You found one?!" She jumps on her feet and runs to grab the box.

"Woah!" Zeb nearly stumbles back as he holds onto the chair to keep himself from falling. "Take it easy, kid!"

Dr Gia doesn't listen and checks the inside of the crate. She narrows her eyes at it, but soon she shakes her head.

Uh oh… that's never good…

"I'm sorry, Ezra, but even if this might be a healthy human heart, this isn't the right one for you," my eyes widen at the news.

"W… What do you mean…?" I hiccup my tears in as I feel my lips quiver.

"Ez, your heart is for a teenager," she replies. "If we put a heart of an adult, we don't know how stable it is compared to yours. I'm sorry, but we can't use it,"

The tears start pouring down my cheeks as I feel my breathing stop.

No… It can't be… I… I'm doomed…

[ZEB POV]

I see the tears running down Ezra's cheeks as he cries onto his hands. My ears lower at the sight before I pull him into a hug. He tears up more on my chest, and I immediately feel bad.

"Ezra…" I look up and glare at the cat doctor. "Look, I know that the heart transplant you got won't work, but you didn't need to get it,"

"…w-what?" I glance down to see Ezra look up at her. "What do you mean?"

"Look," Dr Gia slowly begins to speak softly. "my agents from my full-time job grabbed a new piece of tech from the Empire. It's called the 3D Organ Printer. I can get you into surgery and copy your heart design, but instead of it being with cancer, it will be healthy and ready to replace your old one,"

"Since when did you have that blasted thing?!" I roar out, not bothering to care when she jumped at my reaction.

"Since three days ago," She says. "It's late now, so if I get him into surgery tomorrow, he'll be out by next week, and he'll be fine by next month,"

"Could you… really cure me?" Ezra's eyes light up in hope.

"Cat's honor, Ez," Dr Gia smiles. "Just meet me here tomorrow with Zeb in the Emergency Room, and I'll get the surgery room ready,"

"Thanks, Dr Gia," I tell her as I grab the crate, and we turn to the door.

"No problem," she giggles at me. "See you boys tomorrow!"

We enter the elevator and head back to the ground floor. Ezra runs to the front desk, and as he schedules the surgery, I can't help but feel a wave of emotions run through my veins.

First one was happy. I was glad that the kid was finally getting a heart transplant to get rid of his cancerous one.

Second was angry. That damn Ferpil gave us the wrong kind of heart, and he seemed so calm about it too. I have a feeling he did it on purpose!

Third was sad. Why? Well, I just realized that even if he was getting a transplant, what if his heart affected how he thought and acted? I don't want Ezra to change, even if he does get annoying. I really want him to stay as cocky, lovable Ezra.

"Hey, ready to go?" I snap out of my thoughts to see him looking up at me.

"Huh? Oh right," I nod and turn. "Let's get back before anyone else finds out. You know how grumpy Hera could be,"

"Don't I know it," he laughs, making me sigh.

That last thought's going to be bugging me for a long time now…

{LATER}

We have started walking down the grass fields when I heard whispering. I turn my head to the source and find Vizago's ship, making me growl as I look to realize that the conversation was between him and that double-crossing Ferpil. I was about to head over there when Ezra looked back at me.

"Hey, where are you going?" He asks.

"I, uh," not now, Zeb. You can't let him know until you hear what's going on between those two. "I just want to return this crate to Ferpil. That's all. You go on ahead, and I'll catch up later,"

"Alright," he sighs before turning to continue. "but I'll call you through comm if Hera goes looking crazy,"

I chuckle as I watch him leave. "Yeah, yeah…"

As soon as he entered the Ghost, I run to where Vizago and Ferpil were then I jump on one of the huge rocks and peak down at the conversation.

"You got out-smarted by that child, Ferpil," Vizago says, looking over at the blaster that Ezra had sold Ferpil earlier. "This thing was merely 2 thousand credits of payment when I got it, and I received three crates of them,"

"I know, I know," Ferpil growls. "He's done worse before. Trust me, he's very convincing,"

"But at least that first deal between him and you is settled," Vizago grins.

"Ah, Yes," Ferpil cackles. "That heart I gave him came from an Imperial officer, about 43 of age. I've known him quite well to know that he's been suffering heart cancer. It's obvious by how many times he's lost control of his respiratory system. I'm sure he's using it to replace his heart, now knowing that the officer is already old enough to die at any second! Ha, and when he gives me his diseased heart to mark the end of the deal, I'll merely give it to the Empire to earn more credits! And THAT is how you outsmart a kid as sneaky as Ezra Bridger,"

I growl as I clench my fists and grit my teeth, trying to restrain myself from jumping into the scene to get rid of both Vizago and Ferpil. What Vizago replied, however, left me frozen and burning in rage.

"We can also use it to threaten that crew, you know," Vizago suggests. "And if this Ezra does NOT do what you predict, we can simply kill him, don't you agree?"

"Kill him OR sell him straight to the Empire, so it would be a win-win," Ferpil folds his arms with a smirk. "When I meet up with him, and he doesn't give me what I need, you'll be there to help me capture him, leaving the intel on where we stood, so the crew knows that we have exchanged the intel for him,"

"Could work," Vizago snickered. "I like how we could both think of outsmarting our employees, you know that?"

"Oh, don't I know it,"

I have had enough. I leap from the rock and run to the Ghost as fast as I could.

I needed to tell Ezra this. NOW.

I run past the common room, where I heard Kanan and Sabine ask me something, but I didn't bother to hear. I just keep running to me and Ezra's room, where I saw him sitting on my bunk before looking up at me.

"Zeb? What's going on?" he questions as soon as he sees my panicked expression.

"We need to talk," I say as the door closes behind me, and I lock it for privacy before walking towards him. "It's about Ferpil's Deal,"

[KANAN POV]

Sabine and I were just arguing about her attitude earlier when we saw Zeb running past us. He had a panicked expression on his face as he carried a box in his hands.

"Zeb?" I ask. "Where you've been?"

"Yeah, and why're you in such a hurry?" Sabine adds.

Zeb doesn't hear us and just turns to the halls. I groan and stand up to follow. I sneak up to him to watch him enter his and Ezra's room, where I know Ezra is hiding from Hera, whom wasn't having the best attitude today for late arrivals. I narrow my eyes as I feel a disturbance through the force and through the bond between me and my padawan.

What are they hiding…?


	7. Payback Trick

[EZRA POV]

I listen carefully to what Zeb told me. My eyebrows furrow In concern and anger as he tells me Vizago and Ferpil's plan.

How dare Ferpil?! How dare both of them?! When I get my hands on them… well, I wouldn't need to touch them to make them suffer, I'm sure, but still!

I was snapped out of my internal ranting, however, when I hear a loud growl. I look up in surprise to see Zeb kicking the metal floor with such rage that it seem like the floor was really going to rip itself up.

"I KNEW Ferpil was being too nice for our own good." He growls. "I KNEW that we shouldn't have TRUSTED that… that… that BASTARD!"

I jump at the word before I feel my tears pricking at the corners of my eyes. I get confused until I realize what I thought.

He… I… I was too trusting on Ferpil. And it… it feels like Zeb's blaming this whole mess… on me…

I burst into tears and was soon hugging myself, crying on my thighs as I hug my legs tight.

Why is it always my fault…? Why…? Why…

"E… Ezra?" I look up at him to see him glancing down at me in shock. "W-Wait, why are you… no. No, no! Kid, I don't blame you for all this—"

"But… it's sounds like you ARE blaming me for all this…" I sniffle my tears, my breathing uneven as I turn my head to avoid eye contact.

"No, kid…" I hear Zeb sighing before a thud comes, and I make a quick glance to see him sitting on the floor in front of me. "I DON'T blame you, okay? I mean, sure, you WERE the one to trust Ferpil, but—"

"SEE?! YOU'RE BLAMING ME!" I let out a hard cry, my voice mixing rage and sadness.

I don't know since when my mood kept exaggerating, but I don't think it matters now, does it? Well, I COULD think of a reason, but that memory feels like a blur…

"No, no, Ezra, it's not like that," I feel a hand on my chin, and I look up to see Zeb in front of me. "I don't blame you. I just… wished that we had thought things through, that's all,"

"So… it's not my fault?" I ask.

"Well," he grins at me. "it's not ALL your fault, but yeah, it ain't your fault,"

I smile and wipe the tears off my eyes. He helps me to wipe them off then he places a hand on both of mine. My cheeks heat up a bit at his touch as I gulp.

Omg, his strong… large… hand… my gosh, why am I so gay? I mean, sure, I've liked him for a long time, but still, I think I'm going too gay for him…

Awkward silence dawns upon us. I couldn't look up at him in the eye without getting the need to faint. He squeezes my hands, and I turn to see him looking over at me with a more serious expression.

"Now, we need to think of a plan to get back at Ferpil for what he did," he growls lowly. "Any ideas?"

I think for a while before an idea enters my mind that will end Ferpil for good. He might have been an old friend of mine, but if his translation of a 'friend' is someone you can stab in the back then he had crossed the line.

"I have a plan," I tell him. "And yes, I have thought it through, but you would have to be the one to do it,"

"Why me?" He asks me.

"Because we need to do it tomorrow, during my operation," I reply, and his eyebrows furrow in worry, so I smile and take my hand from him to place it on his shoulder. "Okay, okay, let me explain the plan from start to end…"

{THE NEXT DAY}

Today's the day. The day of my heart surgery and the day Ferpil gets a taste of his own medicine.

We sneak out by 6, since the crew usually wakes up 7, making sure to eat some fruit then we head out of the Ghost and went to the city to grab the jump-speeders we stole and hid yesterday. We speed to the hospital, where Dr Gia was waiting for us in the Emergency Room.

"Ah, Good, you guys are here," she helps me to one of the beds then she leans closer to whisper, "I overheard your plan through my Alternate Dimensional Speaker. Are you sure you can go through this alone?"

"First of all, NEVER eavesdrop on me again," I glare at her before sighing. "And secondly, yes, I can do this. Zeb won't take long, anyway. He just needs to make a quick truck delivery, that's all,"

"I wasn't eavesdropping," she returns the glare. "I was doing my job as one of the protectors of the alternate dimensions and universes,"

"Fine, but give me a head's-up next time, m'kay?" I raise an eyebrow with a snicker.

"As you say," she nods at me then she turns to Zeb. "Be here before he comes out of surgery, m'kay?"

"Don't know how you knew about our plan, but okay," Zeb growls before he turns, but before he leaves, he ruffles my hair. "Survive this operation, kid,"

"I'll try," I smile. "Good luck,"

"To you too," he says then Dr Gia and a bunch of nurses rush me to the operation room, making me hold my breath as I was connected to wires, and as a breathing mask was placed on me while Dr Gia gets into her surgical outfit.

Oh boy… here we go…

[ZEB POV]

I watch as Ezra is rushed into the operation room. I feel worry clench my heart, and my brain begin to spin with fright and doubtful questions, but I shake them off and leave the hospital.

I can't stay to hope that Ezra makes it out alive. I have to do this trick delivery. For Ezra.

I get on my jump-speeder to zoom off, but first, I peek at what's inside the box.

It was the heart that Ferpil gave, but we made a slight adjustment; we covered it in more Imperial blood and stabbed it repeatedly last night. Asking where we got the blood? I have no idea, but then again, the Ghost is full of secrets…

Suddenly, I freeze in complete shock as my comm goes off.

"Specter 1 to Specter 4, where are you?!"

'Kriff!' I bite my bottom lip. I hate it when Kanan talks like that.

I grab my comm and reply, "Specter 4 here. I'm, uh, nowhere?"

"Oh really?" Hera's voice sounds grouchy, and that's when I knew that I would be in BIG trouble when I get back on the Ghost with both leaders. "Where's Specter 6? I have a feeling you both left the Ghost WITHOUT A WORD! He doesn't even answer his comm! Specter 4, you better have a good explanation about this, or I swear—"

"Tsch! Oh, what was that?!" I make a hissing noise to make it seem like we're losing signal. "Tsch! Sorry, Hera, but it seems like… tsch! I. Tsch! Can't. Tsch! Hear. Tsch! You! Tsch!"

With that, I turn off my comm and sigh in relief then I turn on the jump-speeder.

I'll be SO dead when I get back on the ship. Hera will have my head for three things; 1, for leaving the Ghost with Ezra without telling her, 2, for making a trading deal that she had no idea on what about or why, and 3, for leaving Ezra in a surgery room with people we don't know.

Well, the last one's a bad thing since of Hers doesn't know the people, she ain't trusting them. I mean, we've had Lando in our ship, but even Hera didn't bother to trust him. What else for a couple of strangers?

I soon speed to where Vizago's ship was still parked. I park the jump-speeder beside one of the tall rocks then I get off and spot Ferpil and Vizago nearby. I suppress my urge to roar or even growl at them as I make my way towards them.

Calm down, Zeb. Calm down. You've got to do this… calmly… don't let out the mission by losing yourself to your rage…

They both spot me as I get closer. They turn to me, and I stop in front of them.

"Oh, hello, Lasat," Vizago gives me a toothy grin. "What brings you here, friend?"

"I'm here to deliver something for Ferpil," I reply, still trying to hold in my rage.

"A package? For me?" Ferpil asks in an 'innocent' tone. "What ever could it be?"

"You know exactly what it could be, Ferpil." I hand the box over to him. "We used the heart you gave us, and we exchanged it with a useless one,"

I open the lid to show the bloody heart, and what I said next gave me a cringe.

"It's Ezra's diseased heart," I hold in my urge to vomit and keep my straight face on.

"Ah, excellent," Ferpil smirks, just as I thought he would before he turns to walk away. "Vizago, we got the good. Hand him the intel. We don't need the rest of those useless blasters,"

"Fair enough," Vizago grumbles as a droid comes to him, and he grabs a data-pad from the robot. "Here. Tell your captain that we've gotten what we need, and so do you. We'll be going now,"

I just nod and take the data-pad. I watch them leave on Vizago's ship then once they were in space, I let out my laughter.

I cannot WAIT until Ferpil realizes that handing that crate to the Empire WITH Vizago will end their lives. THAT is what they get for messing with me and Ezra, and also that's what gets for trying to get ME as a trading material.

My laughter ceases, and I look down at the data-pad. I snicker when I turn it on.

Another thing that will get me scolded is opening this damn thing, but I at least deserve to know what Hera and Kanan have been so obsessed in getting from Vizago that it was worthy a one-week stay here in Lothal when Agent Kallus could just kill us right here, right now.

I search for the 'important' information, but once I found it, I was completely frozen in shock. My shock switches to rage in a matter of seconds before I run off to get my speeder then I zoom back to the Ghost.

I'm going to need a LONG explanation from Hera and Kanan about this…

{MEANWHILE}

[Normal POV]

"In this box is the key to getting rid of the Rebels for good," Ferpil said as he and Vizago presented the crate given to them by Zeb. "I have killed the youngest of the crew; the Loth-rat, as you may call it,"

"And how exactly did you do something like this, Wallaway?" Agent Kallus was beyond doubtful of the trader's words. "The Rebels won't let anyone or anything get near any of their members, less likely a trader that is not as equally known as Vizago,"

"Trust me, Agent," Ferpil grinned. "I have my ways. The boy used to work for me, so it was easy to get his trust and to fool him,"

"I doubt that." the three turned to see the Grand Inquisitor appear from out of nowhere, his golden orbs shimmering through his eyes of darkness as he stood in front of the traders. "I can sense the boy still alive in Lothal. He is not critically hurt, but he will not survive if we attack him now. This… heart is a fake. I sense that it belongs to one of our Imperial troopers. One that had been hunted down by a bounty."

"What?!" Ferpil was in shock. "Can't be! I gave that heart to him to swap for… oh no…"

Vizago face-palmed, gritting his teeth in rage as the Imperials moved closer towards them. 'He just gave it all away! That idiot!'

"So," Kallus growled. "YOU are one of the traders who buy from illegal bounty hunters and tried to trick the Empire,"

"What? No, no!" Ferpil tried to defend himself by stepping back, but more troopers grabbed them, so they couldn't leave. "I HAD the boy's heart! I swear!"

"Keep swearing," the Inquisitor held up his lightsaber, the two red blades appearing in front of the frightened traders. "You'll have nothing else to do after, anyway,"

With that, he swung the blades towards them, who both had their eyes widened as they were both executed, neither of them getting a chance to scream.

The box landed with a thud on the floor, the blood spilling all over, but Kallus didn't care. He simply turned and called over the troopers for an attack in Lothal.

"I know where the boy is," the Inquisitor evilly grinned. "Let us not attack Lothal alone. Let us attack the National Hospital of Lothal,"

"Inquisitor, the owner had paid a large amount of deal on that hospital," Kallus tried to argue, not wanting to have ANOTHER incident with the hospital's owner, Gia. "We can't just simply—"

"The boy is IN the hospital." the Inquisitor scowled, turning to the Agent with a calm yet infuriated expression. "Under my master's command, that boy is to be taken to the Dark Side or eliminated,"


	8. Blood Transfusion

{IN THE NATIONAL HOSPITAL OF LOTHAL}

[GIA POV]

Time was racing. And I meant that.

Ezra was strapped in medical wires that was keeping his blood circulation flow while the other wires were making sure his blood rate was still good.

"His heart is deactivated," one of the nurses say.

"His pulse in his wrist and neck is still stable with the blood flow," another one reports.

"Good," I nod at them before putting my mask and gloves on then I grabbed my tools.

My paws were shaking, but I had to do the surgery; slice his chest open, use a machine to remove his rib cage from his heart then I grab his heart and place it in a tray. I check to see him still breathing, making me sigh in relief before I grab the tray.

"Make sure he's still stable," I tell the nurses. "I need to scan and duplicate this for replacement. Call me in case of any emergency,"

"Of course, Dr Gia," I smile then I run out into the hospital halls, the tray firmly in my hands as I enter the elevator.

"Scanner 194, Dr Gaila Felinicia," I say. "Rabbit Quick."

"[Understood, Dr Gaila.]" the elevator slides down as fast as it could then door opens. "[Scanner 194.]"

"Thank you," I rush to the machine and place the tray inside then I press a button and command, "Scanning 002; Cleanse and Duplicate,"

"[Understood.]" the machine says before a bright scan comes, checking the heart out as more lights flicker in and out of the machine.

I fiddle with my gloves as I wait. I feel my breathing pace up in fear as my eyebrows furrow.

I've never been this nervous in my life of being a doctor. I mean, I've gotten into so many surgeries and helped so many patients, but this is Ezra's life at stake! He is a Jedi-in-training; a padawan; one of my best friends. My mission is to make sure he gets a heart transplant, and to make sure he lives on with the one he loves. That's why I'm still here. Usually, I'd leave the day after Ezra's check-ups, but I can't. He's dying right now, and I can't disappoint him, or any of his friends, or his crush.

I hear a sudden beep, and I look up to see that the machine had stopped glowing. I sigh in relief then I look over to see the duplicated heart. I take out my own scanner to check it over. It glows green.

Good. It's healthy. Perfect.

"Dr Gia, come quick!" I hear one of my nurses screaming through the hospital comms.

"Oh boy…" I grab another tray and place the heart inside then I rush to the elevator and run back to the operating room as fast as I could. "What happened?! Is Ezra alright?!"

"Yes, but he's loosing blood! Fast!" the nurse holding Ezra's chart runs to me with wide eyes. "When we removed his heart and rib cage, we took some of his blood out, and now, his blood rate has gone low! He needs a blood transfusion! Now!"

"Alright, alright," I tell myself to calm down as I place the tray onto a table. "someone get me the holo-phone! As for the rest of you, please tell me that our equipment can sustain him for a few days?"

"12 hours," the nurse observes from the data he collected.

"Oh boy…" I groan, rubbing the top of my nose ridge with a hiss. "Okay, just… keep him stable, and… I'll get the blood transfusion. What's Ezra's blood type?"

"O positive," another nurse replies.

"Alright then…" I take a deep breath as the holo-phone was given to me. "At least I know JUST who to call…"

{MEANWHILE}

[KANAN POV]

I sip my coffee as Hera paces around the common room. Sabine is beside me, eating her breakfast as she avoids eye contact with both me and Hera. Chopper was beside her, grumpily grumbling about something that I had no idea on, but I don't think I want to know. I shake my head with a groan, leaning back on the chair.

An hour ago, I woke up for breakfast. Hera was done making it then by 7:30, Sabine was up. We had just started eating when we realized that neither Zeb nor Ezra were at the table. Hera tried to check their room, but they weren't there. We tried calling Ezra's comm, but it was offline, so we contacted Zeb's comm. He responded, thankfully, but he didn't tell us where exactly he and/or Ezra is. He manually jammed his comm signal then hung up, leading us here, an angry Hera impatiently waiting for Zeb and Ezra's return.

I mean, sure, I was just as mad as Hera, but when I tried to contact Ezra through our bond, something didn't feel right. It felt like he was there in a second, but in the next second, he was gone. I tried to feel him again, but this time, I got nothing.

"How do you know that they're going to show up any time now?" Sabine suddenly asks.

"They better." Hera growls. "Once they board this ship, they're going to get it!"

"Maybe that's why they aren't coming back yet," I tease, earning a warning glare from the Twi'lek. "Okay, okay. I was just kidding. Besides, they have no where else to go other than here,"

"Ezra's Tower's a start," Sabine suggests.

"Maybe…" I have started to think about her suggestion when I heard familiar, heavy footsteps running up the ramp, followed by an angry roar.

"KANAN! HERA!"

"Well, look who decided to finally show up," Hera groans.

"Take it easy there, Hera," Sabine frowns. "I don't think Zeb sounds too happy,"

"I don't think he is happy," I shake my head. What's gotten into him?

A few minutes later, Zeb enters the common room, his rage showing through his face as he growls at us. He had a data-pad in his hand, which quickly sent an alarm in me.

He saw the intel… uh oh…

"Zeb, what's wrong?" Hera questions with her arms folded. "Shouldn't it be us getting mad at you for sneaking out of the ship with Ezra?!"

"THAT is an issue to be discussed later, Captain." Zeb snarls, and my eyes widen at his response.

"Zeb, what's going on with you this time?" Sabine raises an eyebrow.

"Why don't you take a look and see for yourself, Sabine?" He hands over the data-pad to her, and she scans it before her eyes widened.

"Hera, Kanan, what is all this?!" Sabine shoves the data-pad to my face. "How did Vizago get an intel about us and our background?!"

Hera and I exchange worried glances. She motions me to answer, but I shake my head, knowing that even if I was a Jedi, I was no match for the angry Captain Honor Guard of Lasan and the enraged, explosive-thirsty Mandalorian. Hera sighs at me, mouthing a 'you owe me one' before turning back to the two.

"Fine, we'll tell you what's going on," she slowly begins to explain. "A bounty hunter found that out and stole it from the Empire. Vizago made a good deal with him to get the intel, and that's why he called Ferpil since he figured out that Ezra knew Ferpil before. He then made a deal with Fulcrum since he also found out that we were getting more intel for Fulcrum and having less expense on it,"

"But YOU said that it was intel about the Empire's plans and ships!" Sabine shouts.

"It is," I finally speak up. "Their plans to weaken us through blackmailing and abuse, and their plans to construct stronger ships to replace the ties that we blew up from way back,"

"Why didn't you tell us this?!" Sabine demands. "This was DEFINITELY our business because this is about US!"

"We couldn't risk it," Hera defends. "We knew how personal you all get. Trust me, I was just as upset as you both when Kanan and I found out about the hidden intel. We wanted to do ANYTHING to get it off Vizago's hands,"

"Still." Zeb grumbles. "You should've told us what's going on."

"Ugh," Sabine claws through her hair, glaring at us. "whenever it's something not related to us, you always seem open, but when it IS something related to us, you two LOVE to keep secrets!"

"Sabine." I grit my teeth as I speak as sternly as possible. "Zeb. We keep those secrets to PROTECT YOU. BOTH of you. Especially you, Zeb. When things get personal, you go ALL OUT. Like the one with T-7s. You KNOW what happened last time."

"I… I guess…" Zeb falls into mutters, looking away from me. "But still… you should've said something and not kept so much secrets…"

"Says the one who snuck out with Ezra and came back without him." Hera growls at him, her eyes shimmering in fury as she places her hands on her waist. "Zeb, what's going on, how did you get the data-pad, and where is Ezra?

"Fine, but we're DEFINITELY talking about the info later." Sabine snarls at me and Hera before sighing then she turns to Zeb and folds her arms. "Zeb, what did you do to him?"

"Wait, why is it me who had the attention of all a sudden?!" Zeb took a step back, raising his hands up in surrender. "I didn't do anything bad to him! Promise!"

"Then where is he?!" I demand, not holding in my inner worry and rage any longer.

For the past few months, Ezra's aura on the force had felt… weak. With each mission we went to, his actions were getting slower and slower, and every time he was told to go faster, he would grunt and complain. When we make it to the Ghost, I later find out that he was having a shortness of breath, and he was tugging on his chest, like he was trying to ease something inside him.

Not just that, though. These past few weeks, he's been a little sick in the morning, and he's been having mood swings. He wouldn't even flirt with Sabine during their spare time, which was his routine on the first few months of his stay with us. The symptoms might be a cause of something else compared to the first one, but still.

As his Master, friend, and father-figure, since that's how I consider myself to him, I get worried. I try to connect to him through our Bond, but he blocks me off, which irritated me until I started to get sleepless nights.

"I—" Zeb gulps, but before he could say anything, a beeping sound goes off.

Hera runs to the holo-table and sees something flickering. "Incoming call from a place called… the National Hospital of Lothal Headline?"

'A hospital…?' We were confused by the call, and when I got a glance of Zeb, he starts to look nervous. "Zeb, what's going on?"

"I…" Zeb lets out a grumble, along with a few mutters and curses before he trots forward towards the holo-table. "…j-just let me answer the call… It… It'll explain…"

"Fine…" Hera grumbles, her eyes still on Zeb as she motions him to answer the call.

Zeb presses the answer button, and a holographic image of a cat doctor appears. Her eyes flashes of rage, stress and fear as she growls at Zeb.

"Zeb, where the hell are you?!" she demands. "You've been gone for 2 hours! Ez said that you'd only be out for a while!"

Ez? Wait, does she mean… Ezra?

"I know, I know," Zeb sighs. "I had to deliver something back to the Ghost. The deal was a scam, anyway. Vizago never wanted the weapons. He and Ferpil both wanted Ezra's literal heart to sell to Empire to trick them,"

I gasp while Hera's eyes widen, and Sabine's jaw drops. I wanted to ask when the doctor gave a groan.

"Ugh, fine, fine. Very well," she scratches her hair, gritting her teeth. "but now, I need help! The operation was going well until Ezra's blood rate went low, and now he needs a blood transfusion! Our equipment can only hold him for 12 hours, so we need it immediately!"

"A blood transfusion?!" Zeb starts to get angry. "What did you morons do?!"

"Nothing, I swear!" the cat puts her hands up in surrender. "When we did the operation, his heart rate was fine! When we removed his rib cage for the heart transfusion, that's when his blood rate lowered!"

Heart transfusion? What?! What the hell was going on?!

I turn to Hera and Sabine, but neither of them knows what was happening. They each have their eyebrows furrowed as we watch Zeb clawing the back of his head.

"Argh, fine, fine!" He scowls. "What kind of blood do you need?"

"Human Blood Type O positive," the doctor says. "And I need it now!"

"Right, right…" Zeb suddenly turns to me. "Kanan, what's your blood type?"

"Uh… O positive?" I shrug, but when I soon realized what I said, my eyes widen in shock. "Wait a minute…"

"Good, you found your donor," the cat nods. "Grab him, and I'll meet you at the Emergency Room!"

Zeb nods then once the call ended, he grabs my arm and drags me out of the Ghost. I gasp as he puts me onto a jump-speeder.

"Zeb, what's going on?!" I roar out as he sits behind me but still grabs the handles to steer.

"I'll explain once we're there!" He snaps at me before turning to Hera and Sabine, who had ran out to follow us. "Better keep up, or else you'll never know what's going on!"

With that, he drives off with me. I hang onto the seat, trying not to fall off as we go on full speed.

"Woah, woah! Take it easy, Zeb!"

"There's no time!" Zeb picks up the pace, nearly sending me off again. "Hang on!"

"Trying to!" I hiss.

We speed through the city, and after that, we past through another field of grass. I get confused until I see us getting closer to a white building. My eyes widen as I spot a Red Cross on top.

The National Hospital of Lothal…

"We're getting closer!" Zeb turns to the entrance that has the word 'EMERGENCY' in glowing red light.

Soon, we make it to the emergency entrance. Zeb stops by the door and parks the jump-speeder then he grabs my arm and runs inside, dragging me behind.

"Zeeeeb!" I scream as I nearly fly in his speed.

"Sorry, Kanan, but it's urgent!" He yells back as we make it to the emergency room. "Dr Gia! Where are you?!"

"Right here!" We turn to see the cat doctor running towards us.

I stare at her for a while before realizing that she was only a kid. She was shorter than me and maybe even shorter than Ezra, and she looked like she couldn't even hurt a fly. Her glasses made her look mature, but it didn't make her look like an adult. If I had a guess, she was the same age as Ezra, or less.

"Is his blood type O positive?" the cat, Dr Gia, was it? She looks over at me while adjusting her glasses.

"Yes, he is," Zeb nods quickly. "Where is Ezra?! Is he alright?!"

"He will be once we do the blood transfusion," Dr Gia pulls on my wrist and gets me on a hospital bed with great strength, which surprised me beyond believe since I didn't know anyone who could match or even outmatch Zeb's strength. "Sir, I need you to relax while I take you to Ezra's operating room, so the blood transfer would be smooth and straightforward. Can you do that?"

"I get to see Ezra?" I ask.

"That's not the right question," she shakes her head as she begins to drag my bed to through the hospital halls. "The right question is; can you handle seeing him?"

I feel my heart starting to sink at the question given. "What do you mean?"

She doesn't respond. She just gives me a worried look as she keeps pushing the hospital bed until we make it to the operating room. My heart drops to the ground when I finally saw my Padawan.

Though I wish I hadn't.

He was unconscious, with his chest opened up literally. The skin of his chest was sliced open, showing the inside, which was full of blood. His rib cage was on a tray beside him, and I felt sick when I saw it with blood.

Is this why he was getting weaker with every mission we do? Every intense Jedi Training he does? I'm starting to feel guilty of going hard on him during training now that I see the consequences of it.

"Kanan," I turn to see Dr Gia staring down at me with a needle. "We need to you to donate some of your blood for Ezra. Can you do that?"

I don't know how she knows my name, but I knew that neither of us had time to ask or answer, so I just nod. "Yes. Anything for Ezra,"

"Good," she then calls her staff over to help.

I hope this saves Ezra… I DON'T want to lose anyone else in my life…


	9. The Truth

[ZEB POV]

One of the nurses told me to stay in the waiting room after I saw Dr Gia drag Kanan to the same operating room Ezra disappeared into. I did as I was told, but now, I started to get worried.

It's been hours since Kanan was rushed to the operating room. I had been fidgeting my fingers around and biting my bottom lip, peeling the skin off and eating them.

Three things. There are three things that I was worried about. The recent one was if Kanan will be alright, but I knew that it was just a blood transfusion, so I knew he'll be fine.

The second thing was how Ezra was doing in the operating room. His blood rate is low, which can be the cause of his death. I don't want to lose him. Not one bit.

The third is how Ezra will be after the operation. I mean, I know the heart is just an organ for oxygen to enter the blood and roam around the body, but what if it changes his feelings for us? For… me? I don't know what I'd do if I lose the only one I'd ever love after I lost Lasan to the Empire…

I was released from my thoughts when I heard voices calling my name.

"ZEB!"

I turn in surprise to see Hera and Sabine running towards me. I stand up as they come to a stop in front of me.

"What's going on?! Where's Kanan and Ezra?!" Hera demands, her emerald eyes full of concern rather than rage.

"I—" I open my mouth to speak when Sabine interrupts me.

"You said you'll explain once we caught up!" she roars, her rage visible. "Now tell us what's going on!"

"Sabine—"

"What if Ezra and Kanan are in trouble?!" Hera goes into panic. "What if the Empire has them?!"

I look at her in disbelief. "Hera, I don't think—"

"If the Imperials got them then it's all YOUR fault, Zeb!" Sabine snarls. "If you just spoke out and told the truth sooner or later then—"

"Okay, okay, I get it! Sheesh!" I snap, clawing the back of my head and gritting my teeth with a hiss. "Look, Sabine, just because you're still mad at Hera and Kanan, it doesn't mean that you'll take your anger out at me too! And Hera, I know you're concerned, but being demanding won't do us any good! So both of you just sit down and be quiet, so I can explain!"

The girls fall silent before sitting down on the chairs beside me. I take a moment to breathe and calm myself down then I slowly sit back down.

"Alright, let me start from the beginning," I say. "but no questions while I'm speaking!"

"Fair enough," Hera nods and urges me to continue.

"A week ago," I begin. "I caught Ezra packing his things and planning to head out while everyone was busy. He said that he was going to an appointment and that he would explain the rest when he came back if I told Kanan that he'd miss Jedi Training because of the appointment. I wanted for him to explain what was happening right there and then, but he yelled at me, claiming that he was going to be late if he stayed to chat. He escaped and ran past me to leave.

"When he got back, I demanded to know what was going on. He told me to not tell you guys or else he wouldn't reveal. I promised to not tell then he explained to me that he had been having Heart Cancer since and that he's had it since he was a kid. His doctor, Dr Gia, was keeping in contact with him to make sure he was okay, but it turns out that our missions and his training had been worsening his condition. At the moment, he had only one month to live, unless he got a heart transfusion, but it was difficult since the hospital didn't have any heart transplants available. I agreed to help find one for him through the black market.

"That night, we searched the holo-net through the black market website. We found one from Ferpil, and Ezra thought he could trust him, so he agreed with the deal of exchanging the heart sold with another heart; his own diseased heart. I went along with him, but when we finally got the heart yesterday, we realized that the heart wasn't the type that Ezra needed, and I found out that Ferpil was planning to kill Ezra if he didn't give him his diseased heart.

"Thankfully, Dr Gia had a machine called the 3D Organ Printer to cleanly duplicate Ezra's heart to use for the heart transfusion. While he was in surgery, we had a plan to put in action. I gave Ferpil the heart back, but I tricked him, bluffing that it was Ezra's diseased heart. It turns out that the heart was the only thing Vizago and Ferpil were waiting for and that the data-pad was with them the whole time they'd been here. They fell for my trick, grabbed the heart, gave me the data-pad, and left,"

"Whatever happened to Ezra then?" Sabine asks. "Why isn't he out of surgery yet?"

"Dr Gia said that his blood rate lowered, so she needed Kanan to be her blood donor to save him," I fiddle with my fingers in worry and nervousness. "But now, I have no idea what's going on, or if any of them are alright. It's been hours since Kanan was taken in,"

"Oh, Zeb," Hera gives me a gentle pat on the back, her eyes softening. "We didn't know that Ezra was in so much pain. I'm proud that you were able to get him to tell you and that you were able to help him before time ran out. I'm sorry for being so harsh,"

"I'm sorry too," Sabine sighs. "It's not that I don't care, but it's because I don't like secrets being kept from me, especially one about us as a family,"

"Sorry for keeping secrets," I smile at them. "but you know that Ezra ain't an open book,"

"Tell me about it," Hera chuckles, but it ceases quickly as she looks at me straight in the eyes. "But, Zeb, I have a question; why help Ezra live and keep this secret from us? I mean, you two aren't the closest duo…"

"Yeah, why help him, Zeb?" Sabine raises an eyebrow.

I feel my face burn at the questions before I turn away, not feeling the strength to face either of them. I hear a sigh before a hand falls on my shoulder. I turn back to see them looking at me with gentle expressions.

"Zeb, you don't have to answer," Hera says softly. "but we know that there's something bothering you. What is it?"

"I…" I sigh, groaning. "It's just that… Kanan and Ezra've been in the operating room for hours. I'm worried if either of them were still alive,"

"That's sweet, Zeb," Sabine giggles. "but I think there's more to that than what you said. What else are you worried about?"

Karabast. These girls are too good to hide secrets from. Well, to be fair, these two HATE secrets being kept from them…

"I… fine, I'll spill," I fold my arms and look down at the floor. "I'm worried that… after this operation, Ezra would be… different. Worried that he would feel different, and he would feel like a total stranger to us. Worried that he won't feel like family to him anymore,"

"And I thought Kanan would be the one to worry about that," Hera snickers as she places her other hand on my other shoulder. "Zeb, Ezra will love us all as a family no matter what. A heart transplant will save him, not change him. It will help him, not destroy the feelings he had before. Just because his heart organ's different, it doesn't mean that his real heart and feelings will be different,"

"You… You really think so, Hera?" I ask, uncertain.

"No, I don't think so," she squeezes my shoulders with a smile. "I KNOW so,"

"I… I guess," I nod, understanding what she said.

"Is there another reason why you're so worried that Ezra's feelings for us will change?" Sabine snickers.

Should I tell them? I mean, it wasn't too long ago when Sabine revealed that she DID have some feelings for Ezra. That's when I started to wonder why she started to like him… until I fell for him myself. Wow, pure irony, don't you think?

"I'm not sure you'd take the news well," I scratch the back of my neck nervously.

"Can't be that bad," Hera reassures me.

"Oh, it's bad, I know it is," I groan.

"Nah, you're just being a dramatic asshole," my ears twitch at the familiar voice, and we all turn to see Dr Gia walking towards us.

She looked… different, though. Her hair was a mess, and she had bags under her eyes as her whole body trembled, even as she holds a clipboard in her arms. She was sweating underneath her doctor's coat, and she seems like she's about to black out at any minute.

"Hey, Zeb," she waves at me before noticing the girls. "Ah, I see that you've finally told the rest of the crew,"

"Yeah, I have," I nod.

"Don't think Ezra was informed that you would tell," she teases, and I roll my eyes.

Nope, she ain't exhausted. She's still as annoying as Ezra described her to be.

"I had to, if these two would ever stop yammering questions into my ears," I groan then I stand up. "Speaking of Ezra, how is he? Is he alright? Did he make it out alive?!"

"What about Kanan?!" Hera goes beside me with the same worried expression. "Is he alright?!"

"I'm fine, Hera," we gasp to see Kanan walk up to us with a smile. "A little dizzy, but I'll be fine,"

"Oh, thank the stars!" Here runs to hug him.

"The dizziness is just a side-effect to the blood-loss," Dr Gia explains. "Along with temporary diarrhea and nausea, but it'll only be temporary side-effects, so it'll go away for about 4-5 days,"

She turns and motions us to follow her. "Come on. I'll take you to Ezra's room,"

We follow behind as she takes us through the halls. We soon enter the elevator.

"Room 2652. Dr Gaila Felinicia," Dr Gia commands.

"[As commanded, Dr Gaila.]" the elevator speaks out before we begin to go up and sideways.

Kanan, Hera and Sabine were in shock when the elevator went sideways. I just chuckle at their reaction while Dr Gia giggles softly. Soon, the elevator stops at a floor.

"[Room 2652.]" the elevator doors open, and we all step out to see ourselves in front of a white door.

The door slides open, and we enter, finding ourselves in a white room as the door closes behind us. I gasp with Hera and Sabine when we finally saw Ezra.

He was on the bed, unconscious but thankfully breathing. He had an oxygen mask on while his left arm was connected to a dextrose, and his left thumb was connected to a pulse monitor. His pulse was steady, and so was his breathing, which let me breathe a sigh of relief.

"He looks better than when I saw him in the operating room," Kanan shudders.

"And at least the heart and blood transfusions worked," Dr Gia smiles up at us. "He'll be able to live as long as he can,"

"Thank you, Dr… Gia, was it?" Hera grins nervously.

"Yep, that's me," Dr Gia nods. "Dr Gaila Felinicia, but you can just call me Dr Gia,"

"How long will he be unconscious?" Sabine asks.

"If we're hopeful, 12 hours," Dr Gia replies then she turns to Kanan. "I don't want you to do that 'healing thing' that Jedis can do since you yourself just donated blood, so you don't have the strength and energy. Understood?"

"Got it, Dr Gia," Kanan nods.

"Good," Dr Gia looks through the papers on her clipboard. "Well, it may take him a few hours to wake up, but his recovery time is longer. He may need to stay in the hospital for at least… 5 days,"

"5 days?" Hera raises an eyebrow.

"Yep, or, if we're really hopeful, it'll just be 1-3 days," Dr Gia reassures her. "All we can do is hope, and all you guys can do is stay with him for the whole time,"

"Of course," Kanan agrees. "Thank you for doing so much for him,"

"He's one of my old friends that I grew up with," Dr Gia explains with a smile. "It's the least I can do,"

She then turns to the door. "Just call me if you or Ezra need anything. I'll just be at my office,"

With that, she leaves. A tension fills the atmosphere as soon as she left. We all look down at Ezra, each of us exchanging worry-filled expressions.

"12 hours, huh?" Kanan speaks up, trying to break the tension as he lets out a shaky sigh.

"Yeah…" Hera frowns.

"I hope it comes soon," Sabine strokes Ezra's hair. "I should've known being in-denial about my feelings for him would make me late on saving him,"

"You like him that way now?" Kanan raises an eyebrow at her.

"I've had a for a while," Sabine confesses.

"But after weeks of being rejected, are you sure Ezra hasn't moved on?" Hera questions.

"Yes. I mean, maybe…" Sabine shrugs. "I don't know…"

She then walks away and heads to the bathroom, leaving the three of us to stare at Ezra. I look down at the kid, but I don't feel like I want to.

He looks as if he's gone through so much pain. I mean, I know he has, but seeing him unconscious with an oxygen mask makes me wonder if he'll wake up or not…

"Zeb?" I turn to Hera, who glanced back at me with a small smile. "Are you okay?"

"Y-Yeah," I fib because I knew that I wasn't feeling okay, but I couldn't let them know.

"Are you sure?" Kanan joins Hera on the questioning. "You're crying,"

I was stunned. I place a hand on my cheek and feel it wet. I then realize that my vision had gone blurry with tears, so I wipe them off with a sniffle.

"I… I'm fine… really…" Why do I still lie when my voice gives me away?

"Zeb…" Hera now looks concerned. "What's really going on with you? And no more lies. You know how much we hate them,"

"I don't know, Hera…" I feel so unsure to trust them with something like this.

"Sabine isn't here, Zeb," she goes on. "I have a feeling that whatever you need to tell us needs to stay away from her hearing. She isn't here, so you can tell us,"

How'd she know?! Eh, I'm the worst at keeping secrets right now…

"I… a-alright, fine…" I sigh, my ears lowering a bit with my cheeks heating up a bit. "I… I knew Sabine likes Ezra, but when I began to wonder why and investigated on it, I understood on how attractive Ezra is, making ME fall for him myself…"

"Woah, what?" Kanan's eyes widen as he stares at me in disbelief. "You like Ezra? As in, like-like?"

"That explains why you've been helping him so much," Hera snickers. "Have you tried telling him how you feel?"

"He likes Sabine," I groan, shaking my head. "It's like wanting the Empire to surrender if ever someone mocks the Emperor,"

"Zeb—"

"Shh!" I suddenly shush them the moment I hear the toilet flushing in the bathroom.

A second later, the bathroom door opens, and Sabine steps out, swaying her colorful bangs to the side to fix it.

"Alright, I'm back," she moves closer to us with a smile. "What did I miss?"

"Nothing." I reply with no hesitation. "Nothing that interesting, at least,"

With that, silence occupies the room once more. I lean back on a corner and begin to think, my eyes on the floor as I ignore the others.

Is Sabine right, though? Is it the right time for either of us or both us tell Ezra how we feel? I mean, this may be one of the only chances we have since we can't predict when he'll live or die again…

I shake my head, turning my back to the corner to hide the tears that were starting to fall again. I wipe them off with a quiet sniffle before folding my arms.

Maybe only Sabine should tell him. Well, she's the only one who seems good enough for him, anyway…

"Zeb," I turn to see Kanan walking up to me. "need someone to talk to? Keeping negative buried deep inside yourself isn't good for you,"

"I know, I know," I sigh, rubbing the back of my head while my ears lowered. "but what about…?"

"Hera's keeping Sabine distracted with her own talk," Kanan motions behind him, and I see the girls in a deep conversation.

"Oh," I nod. "I… I guess that works…"

"Yes, it does," Kanan folds his arms and looks up at me. "Now, what's the matter? We all know that you're not really much of a sensitive person to cry so much. What's going on?"

"It's… I don't know, Kanan," I groan. "I mean, yes, I do like Ezra, but I also know that it's better if he was to end up with someone… someone better than me,"

"Better in what way?"

"Better as in… right," I keep my eyes down in shame. "For example; a male and a female are a RIGHT couple since, you know, their opposite genders. I just think that… Ezra's better off with Sabine than me… no matter how much it hurts…"

"Zeb, get a hold of yourself," Kanan places a hand on my shoulder. "It's not up to you. It's up to Ezra. If he chooses Sabine then so be it, but if he chooses you…"

"As if that'll ever happen," I roll my eyes.

He then glares at me. "What is up with you today? You keep pulling yourself down,"

"Kanan, it's the truth," I growl.

"No, it's not," his grip on my shoulder tightens. "You don't know if Ezra likes you back or not, but I know that there may be hope. There's always hope. Don't give up so easily,"

"But… But, Kanan—"

"Guys! He's flinching!" I was interrupted by the sound of Sabine's voice before Kanan and I both turn to see Ezra moving.

We all gather around Ezra's bed, and his head twists and turns on his pillow, his breathing picking up the pace. We wanted to call Dr Gia for help, but a few seconds later, Ezra's eyes slowly flutter open.

"Mm…" he lets out a groan before using his right hand to rub his eyes. "G-Guys…?"

"Ezra, you're awake!" Sabine cries out happily.

"How are you feeling?" Hera softly asks, stroking Ezra's hair.

"A little… a little tired…" Ezra replies weakly. "And a lot in pain,"

"Do you need us to call Dr Gia?" Kanan asks.

"No, no, I'm good," Ezra smiles faintly. "Besides, I don't need her hovering over me more than you guys already, but how did you…?"

"Zeb had to explain everything to us once Dr Gia needed Kanan for a blood transfusion," Hera explains.

"Sorry, kid," I rub the back of my head nervously. "I… I had to…"

He blinks at me before giggling. "It's okay, Zeb. The surgery's over, anyway. It's fine,"

I grin back, but I still felt pretty bad for breaking my promise. I mean, he entrusted me to keep his condition a secret. Even if he's all better now, HE has every right to tell, not me.

"All that matters is that you're okay," Sabine stares at him lovingly.

Uh oh…

"Uh, thanks, Sabine," Ezra looks back at her shyly.

I knew it…

"Uh, Sabine," Hers nudges her. "maybe there's something you'd like to tell Ezra,"

Whose side is she on anyway?!

"Hera…" Kanan glares at Hera.

Well, at least I've got some back-up…

"Oh, right!" Sabine beams then she turns back to Ezra and cups his cheek. "Ez, there's been something I've been meaning to tell you…"

[EZRA POV]

"What is it?" I ask, raising an eyebrow at her.

"I… I have feelings for you…" Sabine confesses, her cheeks turning bright pink. "I've had them for months now…"

I was stunned. Look, when I started to flirt with her, that was just being me to someone I thought I could be close to, but, to tell you the truth, she isn't my type. Not that I hate Mandalorians or anything like that, I just… we just don't click. She keeps pushing me off and ignoring me every time I try to get close with her. I mean, sure, she's the second closest person to me on the ship, but I just don't feel like she'll be happy with me.

Besides, I'm still rooting on Zeb… I don't care if he feels the same way or not. I just want to let out how I feel to him, so I can stop being so gay around him. Well, to be fair, I'll be even more insane if I tell him…

But. I can't. I can't reject her. Sure, she rejected me way before, but it still doesn't mean it's a nice thing to do. Well, I can't answer her either, so…

"Sabine…" I sigh, looking down to avoid her gaze. "look, please don't think of me low, but I… I'm not sure a relationship between us is such a good idea. I just don't think we're the couple to 'click' the moment we saw each other. Let me… Let me think about it…"

Sabine's blush disappears, and her smile falters, yet she forces them back in her cheeks.

"O-Oh, Okay…" she nods then she turns to walk away. "I'll, uh, just head to the bathroom. I, uh, need to take another wiz…"

With that, she leaves, disappearing into the bathroom faster than I anticipated. I watch as she runs, guilty.

Look, I don't mean to hurt her, but then again, she didn't even hesitate to hurt me when she rejected me before. It's just that… she's a couple of months too late…

"Wow, I never thought you'd do that," Hera comments. "Then again, I've seen you interact with her less and less…"

"I didn't want to say 'no', but I couldn't say 'yes' when I like someone else and not her," I sigh.

"At least you were honest," Kanan chuckles. "A little too honest, but I'm sure she'll come around,"

"So, who's this 'someone else' that you're starting to like?" Hera asks with a grin, and I feel my face heat up.

"I, um…" Dammit! Why did I have to say that I like someone else?! "Well, uh…"

Then I realize something. Zeb hasn't spoken a word since Hera told me that he revealed our little secret. Sure, I was a little hurt, but I knew that it was already time to tell the rest of the crew what's going on with me, especially since it's already over.

I glance at Zeb, my eyebrows furrowed as I tilt my head to observe him.

His ears were lowered with his eyes, which was like a symbol of failure and shame, but those were two things I had never thought Zeb, above all people, would do.

"Zeb?" I call his attention.

"Hmm?" He looks up at me with some sort of guilt still lingering in his eyes, along with a dash of nervousness.

Wait, nervousness?

"Are you okay?" I ask, shrugging off my curiosity and suspicions.

"I…" He looks back down, hugging himself this time. "I'm sorry,"

"For what?" What is he so sorry for?

"Sorry for not coming back as soon as I could," he speaks, forcing himself not to break down. "I… I got the data-pad intel as soon as we gave Ferpil and Vizago the trick then when I searched it, I got angry since it had stolen info about us that the Empire had gathered. I… I wasn't able to go back on time…"

My eyes soften at his words that had touched every bit of my new heart. I hated seeing him so guilty, but I love it when he shows that he cares for me. No matter what. That's the first reason why I fell for him. He shows his care in many, MANY ways…

"Zeb, it wasn't your fault," Kanan reassures him.

"You were able to get Kanan here on time to save Ezra," Hera adds. "If you came back and just found out about his blood loss then it would've taken hours for Kanan to be brought here. You saved Ezra's life, Zeb. Don't be so down,"

"They're right, Zeb," I smile up at him as our eyes meet. "You saved me, and that's all that matters,"

I was keeping myself from melting the moment I stared at his eyes. His… gorgeous… peridot… eyes…

"I… I guess…" he rubs the back of his neck with a shy grin.

It's time to tell him. I need to tell him someday, and what better day than today when he can't hurt me because I was fresh from surgery.

"Zeb," Here I go. Nice and easy. "I need to tell you something,"

"What is it?" He looks at me with curiosity, and I feel my face burn.

It's time to tell him… you have to tell him, Ezra… It's time… It's time…

"I…" I gulp before I hear the heart monitor increase in beat.

Oh boy, this thing's going to give me away, isn't it? I just hope they won't notice…

"Ezra, are you alright?" I turn to see Hera eyeing the heart monitor. "Your heart beat just picked up the pace…"

Oh shoot.

"I'm fine!" I answer with a nervous smile. "I, uh, I'm just… um…"

[Ezra, what's wrong?] I hear Kanan speaking through our bond. I sigh.

[I'm nervous, Kanan.] I reply. [I WANT to tell Zeb how I feel about him, but… what if he doesn't like me that way?]

[What if he does? You'll never know until you give it a go. Remember, it's do or do not. There is no try.]

I groan at the advice. He's not going to be much help now, is he?

I take a deep breath and slowly sit up, much to their worry. I hold my hand up, telling them that I was fine as I finally sit up correctly.

"How… How long have I been in this oxygen mask?" I ask.

"A couple of hours," Kanan replies.

"Good, at least I know that I can take it off," They look at me with wide eyes as I begin to remove the oxygen mask.

"Ezra—!"

"Guys, I'm fine," I roll my eyes. "These things are to last me an hour or two then after that, I don't need them anymore,"

"And… how do you know that?" Hera raises an eyebrow.

"I worked with Dr Gia as an intern when I was 8 to earn money until I dropped out when I found my comm tower when I was 10," I put the mask on the side table then I take a deep breath. "Zeb, I need to do something. Can you help me?"

"Um, sure," he steps front and walks in front of me with no hesitation.

Phew, at least he doesn't suspect a thing…

"Close your eyes, please," I tell him.

"Where are you going with this?" He asks as he closed his eyes.

"Just trust me, okay?" I place a hand on his cheek, and he freezes, his face starting to burn up.

He nods slowly and shuts his eyes tighter while his whole body tenses. I smile at him then I take a deep breath and close my eyes before pulling him to me, closing the gap between our faces with a kiss.

I didn't want to open my eyes as I feel him open his wide eyes. I was too afraid to see his reaction.

Suddenly, I feel his body relax then he kisses back, to my surprise, as his hands travel down for his arms to hold me. My eyes widen, and I see him pressing his lips against mine with his eyes closed. I relax a bit as I close my eyes again, wrapping my arms around his neck to push and kiss deeper. He responds with a groan then he slips his tongue inside my mouth, which causes me to gasp before letting his large tongue dominate my smaller one. We were at it for a while until we decide to pull away to catch our breath, a string of saliva coming between us before our eyes meet.

"Z-Zeb…" I pant to get some air as our gazes were locked into each other. "I… I love you…"

He smiles and nuzzles my neck. "Me too, kid. I love you too. I have been in love with you for a while,"

I purr at his touch, not bothering to see the reactions of neither Hera nor Kanan as Zeb pulls his head up to kiss me again.

[HERA POV]

Why didn't I predict this so easily? Oh, wait, that's right. No one could predict it when it's not so obvious.

"Told you there was something going on between those two," Kanan chuckles at me, and I roll my eyes.

"Yeah, yeah, I get it," I sigh. "Look, Kanan, it's not that I was rooting for Sabine. I just thought Ezra was still into her,"

"And that it was obvious," he grins. "Guess the obvious is not always the truth,"

"I guess you're right," I fold my arms. "For once,"

"Hey!" he glares at me.

I shake my head with a snicker then I turn to see Ezra and Zeb talking, with either Ezra giggling or Zeb chuckling with every sentence.

I didn't care about what they were talking about. Just as long as they have each other to love and to care for, I didn't care what they were doing. EXCEPT for the intimate part of a relationship. They would need to tell me first before they keep the whole ship awake for the night.

Other than that, I'm glad that they know the truth of their feelings for one another…

**HAPPY VALENTINES DAY!!!**


	10. Imperial Attack

[SABINE POV]

Man, I feel like a baby. I'm just crying in the bathroom like some child who lost her lollipop.

But then again, Ezra gave me a rejection, which was something I'd never thought I'd be given. Is this how it felt when I rejected him months ago? Now I feel bad. Maybe he had every right to reject me. I mean, I had a chance to give him my love months ago, and I blew it.

I take a few cleansing breaths and wipe the tears from my eyes.

I can't let him think that I was taking it in too deeply. I have to show him that I'm tough enough to handle a rejection, especially since he's handled all of mine before…

I stand up and place a hand on the door, but I stop and hesitate a bit as an uneasy feeling crawls up my throat. I let it in and press my ear against the metal.

"You know, Ezra," I hear Hera say on the other side. "I don't think it's a good idea to hide this from Sabine,"

He's hiding something from me? What would it be? And why is he hiding it?

"Hera, she is going to FLIP OUT when she realizes who I've been falling for after her rejections in the past," I hear Ezra speak at a nervous tone.

"What makes things worse is that I'm like a big brother to her," My eyes widen at Zeb's voice. "What will she think when she finds out that me and Ezra are… you know…?"

I gasp at the realization. THAT'S why Ezra doesn't like me anymore. He started to like HIM. Oh god. But how?!

I needed answers, so I open the bathroom door and confidentially stride towards them, my eyebrows furrowed in concern and slight anger. My eyes widen even more, however, when I saw the scene in front of me.

Zeb was beside Ezra, HAND-IN-HAND.

"Okay, what's going on?" I demand, crossing my arms as they look surprised to see me. "I was gone for just a few minutes and see… THIS! What happened?!"

"Sabine, calm down," Hera moves beside me and pats my shoulder to calm me down.

"Ezra, you need to tell her," Kanan says, glancing at Ezra.

"I… I know…" Ezra bites his bottom lip while glancing down in shame.

"I'll tell," Zeb speaks up.

"Z-Zeb, you don't have to…"

"I WANT to, love," My jaw drops when he kisses Ezra's forehead before walking up to me.

I didn't expect Zeb, above all people, would touch, much less kiss, Ezra. It was truly… unexpected.

"Sabine," Zeb begins. "remember when you told me that you had feelings for Ezra?"

"Yeah, at least you still remember," I place my hands on my hips.

"Yeah, well," Zeb grits his teeth, rubbing the back of his neck. "I wanted to investigate on why you were falling for him, and when I did, I… I kinda fell for him too,"

"And I fell for Zeb after he and I went on that Wild Meilooran Chase for Hera," Ezra adds with a deep blush. "And after you kept rejecting me, I decided to move on from you,"

"Oh…" so… all of this was basically my fault, wasn't it? Ugh, now I feel bad.

"Sabine," I turn to see Hera move in front of me and place a hand on my shoulder.

"Okay, this is quite a shock for me," I admit with a sigh. "but I guess I'd have to confess that this would be partly my fault. I just… I need time to get used to… THIS…"

"I hope you'll get used to it sooner or later," Kanan mutters lowly, and I growl.

"Hey!" I fold my arms again.

"I hope so too," we suddenly hear the room door slide open, and we hear someone enter. "I'm getting sick of Sabine's tantrum, anyway,"

[EZRA POV]

"Hey!" I nearly laugh when Gia came to mock Sabine.

"What? It's true," Gia shrugs then she walks over to me and places a hand on my forehead. "How you feeling?"

"Better than before, thanks," I smile with a shrug.

"That's good," she giggles as she notices Zeb heading over to me. "And you two are SUPER CUTE!"

"Thanks, Doc," I lean my head on Zeb's arm and look up at him with a loving smile.

He smiles back and kisses me briefly. I hear a squeal then a camera flash, and I look back down to see Gia holding a camera.

"ADORABLE!!!" she keeps squealing.

"Well, those two are pretty cute together as a couple," Hera grins.

"Super adorable," Kanan snickers.

"Yeah, they are," Sabine lets a smirk break through her lips. "Even I have to admit that they make a good couple,"

"Well, let me give you a check-up before you and your new boyfriend have another make-out session, Ez," Gia rolls her eyes playfully then she takes out her stethoscope and starts to check on my new heart. "Hmm, looks like the surgery was a success! Your heart is beating perfectly, and there's no sign of you having another heart attack any time soon,"

"That's good news…" I sigh in relief.

"Definitely," Zeb snuggles my neck, and I giggle at his touch.

"Dammit, Ez!" Gia glares at me enviously as her cheeks redden. "You two are too cute to resist! *Sana ol!"

*Sana ol means 'Wish all' or 'I wish all' in my country's language.]

"Aw, G, you're just too scared to admit your feelings to your crush," I tease.

"Hush," she pouts and holds her head high. "I have my reasons, and you know that quite we—"

BOOM!

We all scream as we hear an explosion from nearby, and we feel an earthquake shake nearly everything from the table and the shelves. Zeb holds me tightly, yet gently, with one arm while holding tightly to a wall with the other as Kanan, Hera, Sabine, and Gia held onto the chairs and tables to keep steady. We all zip our lips, afraid to make a sound as the earthquake occurs.

Soon, the shaking stops. I fearfully turn to Gia, who folds her ears in fear as her whole body trembles.

"G, you okay?" I ask. I've never seen her so scared before.

"Y-Yeah…" Gia carefully pulls herself off the table then she takes out a comm of her own. "Desk Cass, what's going on?! What happened?!"

"The Imperials! With Agent Kallus and the Grand Inquisitor slaying our security guards!" I hear the voice of the alien at the counter, Ms. Cass, as I call her, screaming through. "I don't know why they're here, but they want to see you!"

"Damn it!" Gia curses under her breath then she turns to us. "All of you, STAY HERE and LOCK THE DOOR. I don't know if I can get them to leave, but I do know that they're after all of you. Especially you, Ezra,"

"And what are you going to do, G?" I question with my eyebrows furrowed.

"Try to act calm and tell them off, but I know it's going to be hard with the Inquisitor here too," Gia groans before she runs out to leave. "LOCK THE FREAKING DOOR!"

"I'll do it," Kanan heads to the door and locks it. "There,"

"Kallus and the Inquisitor are both here? That ain't good," Zeb growls as his grip on me tightens.

"And I think it's our fault, Zeb," I hiss.

"What do you mean?" Sabine raises an eyebrow. "What did you guys do?"

"I have a feeling that when we tricked Ferpil and Vizago with a fake heart, the Inquisitor must have sensed me in Lothal and knew they were lying," I shudder.

"Then he followed you through the Force and found both of us here in the hospital," Kanan shakes his head. "That's not good,"

"Do you think Dr Gia knows?" Hera's expression turns into worry.

"Knowing her, she knows," I sigh.

[GIA POV]

Dammit, Ezra! Why did you and Kanan have to lead those freak-show Imperials to the hospital?!

I slide down the Emergency Sliding Pole and head straight to the front desk. I stop in my tracks to see Inquisitor threatening Cass with his lightsaber while Agent Kallus and an army of stormtroopers stands behind him.

Oh shoot! Okay, Gia, calm down. Just… present yourself. Okay, that's what I'll do…

I take a deep breath and step forward with a forced smile on my face. My footsteps alert Kallus, who turns to me with a glare, which I simply return with a smirk.

"Oh, hello there, dear Imperials!" I greet causally, causing Inquisitor to turn to me with narrowed eyes.

"You're the head doctor, I presume?" he asks me sternly.

"Yep, Gaila Felinicia's the name!" I salute cheekily. "And you are?"

"I am the Inquisitor." I freeze as he pulls away from Cass and walks towards me with his lightsaber slicing through the floor. "I sense the Jedi and Padawan Rebel Scums in one of your hospital rooms, as well as the other Rebel Scums with them. As part of the Empire, I have every right to search this facility for them."

"Uh, Okay," I shrug and let them through to the elevator. "but since this is still MY facility, I have the right to go with you,"

"Very well." Inquisitor growls at me behind his shoulder. "Just follow quickly or else."

"As you wish," I nod.

As Kallus and the stormtroopers trot forward to follow Inquisitor, I turn Cass to call my back-up then I ran ahead to keep an eye on the Imperials.

[ZEB POV]

"How long until those Imperials leave?" I grumble, getting a little impatient.

"Gia won't distract them for long," Ezra whispers loud enough for us to hear. "We need to get out of here before they find us,"

"And we don't want her or anyone else innocent involved in this," Kanan comments as he looks around the room for a possible way to escape.

"I don't see a window anywhere, love," Hera shakes her head.

"A secret door, maybe?" Sabine guesses.

"There aren't any secret rooms in the rooms," Ezra reports. "There's only one secret room, and it's in Dr Gia's room. She uses it to escape the hospital when things become too rough and difficult. It's an underground tunnel to the city,"

"And you know that how?" Kanan scratches the back of his head.

"I told you guys that I worked here as an intern 7 years ago," Ezra shrugs.

"But we can't risking detaching you to the monitor and the dextrose," I worriedly point out. "How do we get there without detaching you, Ez?"

"Leave that to me." the door slides open to the new voice, and we turn to see a female with indigo skin, brown eyes, and golden hair tied up in a long ponytail while wearing a doctor's coat and holding a blaster in her hands.

"Dr Boleena!" Ezra smiles happily at her.

"What's up, Ez?" the new doctor, Boleena, steps inside and eyes us all before setting her eyes on me. "Oh, and this must be your new boyfriend I saw through the monitor. Must say, you've got a strange taste for boys,"

"Ha-ha, Bo, ha-ha," Ezra rolls his eyes with a snicker. "At least I told him how I felt. How are you with your feelings for G?"

"Th-That's not important right now, Ezra!" Boleena scowls, her whole face reddening as she turns to open the door. "For now, let's all get to Gia's office, so you can all escape after you guys lured the Empire here,"

She snaps her fingers, and Ezra yelps when his hospital bed and the other things he needs begin to float and follow behind her. By extinct, I run to follow, and the others follow behind me as we are led to the elevator. Soon, we find ourselves in front of Dr Gia's Office. Boleena leads us to a closet door, and when she opened it, we are surprised to see it more spacious than it looks.

"This path will lead you out to the a shuttle that will take you to the Ghost," she tells us.

"But what about you and Gia?" Ezra asks, worry and fear present in his voice.

"We'll be fine, trust me," Boleena grins with a wink. "The Empire won't remember what hit 'em,"

Ezra gives a gasp, making the rest of us exchange confused glances.

"You… No way," he blinks at her in surprise. "You guys are going to set the hospital to rocket mode?!"

"Everyone's already out and evacuated," Boleena shrugs. "Now go! Gia and I'll follow behind,"

"Fine…" Ezra sighs then we run through the secret passage way to get to the shuttle.

We get inside, and Hera starts the engine then we speed off through the fields of Lothal. Ezra's bed and equipment lands on the floor, right near the window, in which he looks out upon. I walk towards him and places a hand on his shoulder as we watch the hospital descend.

"They'll be alright, Ezra," I reassure him.

"I hope so…" he sighs and lays his head on my hand.

So do I…

[GIA POV]

The whole elevator ride was silent as I stand behind the Imperials, afraid to make a word. The elevator was slow, just as I commanded it to be, but Inquisitor doesn't seem to complain. Kallus, on the other hand, looks irritated.

"Can this thing go any faster?" he snarls at me.

"Be careful what you wish for, Kallus," I warn him cheekily.

"Just speed this thing up!" he growls.

"Okay, but don't tell me that I didn't warn you," I shrug. "Elevator, Level Up speed to 5,"

"[Leveling Speed To 5.]" the elevator replies before we suddenly begin to slide up and down at top speed.

I simply stand firm, my shoes attaching themselves to the floor with their new wall-climbing upgrade as I amusingly watch the Imperials ridiculously tumble from left to right and vice versa and from up to down and vice versa.

"Enough of this." Inquisitor snaps in a calm and deep yet irritated voice before he holds a hand up, causing the elevator to suddenly stop.

I freeze in shock. Shoot, I forgot he could do that. Typical force-users.

The Imperials gather their weapons and stand up, brushing the dust off them then they turn to glare at me. Inquisitor steps forward, activating his double-blade before advancing towards me. I gulp and deactivate my wall-climbing upgrade to step back.

"This is all Kallus's fault! I swear!" I defend. "He wanted to make the elevator go faster! Not my fault!"

"That was on purpose." Inquisitor spoke with slight annoyance. "I could feel the Jedi and his Padawan leave the hospital, along with their crew. You came to stall us, and for that, you die."

Shoooooooot!

I hold my hands up in defense and cower down a corner as the blade is raised, but before it could hit me, the elevator door opens, and a purple lightsaber blocks the Inquisitor's.

"Leave her alone, you freaks!"

With that, Inquisitor was kicked out of the elevator, and the rest of the Imperial were thrown out. I look up at my savior and squeal for joy.

"Boleena!" I wrap my arms around her neck and nuzzle her. "My hero!~"

She blushes deeply before smiling shyly, keeping her lightsaber in the belt inside her doctor's coat. She carries me on her back then she takes out her blaster and makes a run for it.

"Let's get to our hover-car before those assholes get up to follow," she says, and I simply nod and hold her tightly.

We head to our hover-car in the parking lot, and I poop into the passenger's seat while she goes to the driver's seat. We then speed off, and once we were far enough, I take out a white remote and press a button.

Suddenly, the hospital shakes then it's engines begin to activate before it blasts off, up and out of Lothal's surface. I watch as it leaves Lothal's atmosphere and explodes into space.

[EZRA POV]

"Oh god…" I gasp as I watch the hospital fly up and explode into bits. "Rest in peace, National Hospital of Lothal…"

"I'm so sorry," Zeb hugs me warmly, and I smile.

"It's okay," I sigh and lean back on his chest to relax myself. "It was bound to happen anyway. That's why the hospital's rocket mode was invented,"

"Do you think Dr Gia and Boleena made it out safe?" Sabine asks.

"They're fine, knowing them well," I smile.

"We're approaching the Ghost," Hera tells us.

"Well, at least this little adventure's over," Kanan sighs in relief.

"Yeah, and it's worth it," Zeb kisses my cheek, and I giggle and nuzzle his neck.

Definitely worth it…


	11. Epilogue Surprise!

[Normal POV]

It's been a month since Ezra's surgery and since Ezra and Zeb got together. The blunette was relieved to hear from Gia, who called in to say that she had a back-up building for a hospital that was already built years ago.

Unfortunately, the Imperials were still alive, even the Inquisitor and Kallus, through the explosion and had returned to their Star Destroyer, but thankfully, they had no memory of what happened, which Boleena explained as a side effect from the explosion.

Sabine had gotten used to the roommates being more than just friends and was even thinking of the fact that they might be doing something else behind closed doors, in which Zeb bashfully denied, stating that he felt like Ezra was too young for it. Ezra, on the other hand, had gone quiet when it came to that topic and had ignored Sabine for it, much to the confusion of the rest of the crew.

One day, Zeb had woken up to a quiet room. It was particularly odd since he usually hears Ezra snoring quietly on the top bunk or at least twisting and turning to make creaking sounds on the metal. It gave an unpleasant feeling in the Lasat's stomach, so he got up and left the room to search for his lover.

It didn't take long for his search to end, for the moment he stepped out of their shared room, vomiting was heard.

"Ezra?"

Another puke was heard, followed by intense coughing, which prompted the Lasat to run to the source of the noise; the Refresher. The door slid open, and his eyes widened to see his boyfriend leaning over the toilet, both hands by the sides of the bowl as he trembled. His eyes were teary and hazy while his mouth was open, trying to pant for air.

"Ezra!" Zeb ran over to him and gently rubbed his back when he began to hurl out last night's dinner into the toilet. "Hey, hey. Take it easy there, Ez,"

"Z-Zeb…?" Ezra coughed a couple of times before shakily attempting to stand.

Zeb helped him move to the sink, where the blunette washed his mouth, gurgling for the smell of his own vomit to leave and spitting out any excess. When he was done, his roomie boyfriend flushed the toilet then carried him back to their room.

"Ezra, what happened?" Zeb asked, sitting on his bunk and laying the Padawan on his lap as he stroked his midnight blue hair. "You alright?"

Ezra didn't speak. He couldn't speak. All he could do was tremble in the arms and lap of the Lasat, his head down in fear and shame.

Should he tell him? How would he react to the news? He knew that it would make the other feel guilty, and he didn't want to do that.

"Ezra? Ez?" Zeb's voice sounded a little scared and a lot concerned, which made Ezra feel guilty. He didn't want to make the guy worry. He really didn't.

"I… It's nothing," the boy fibbed, still not looking up at the Lasat warrior. "M-Maybe just a flu-bug or something…"

Zeb shook his head. "Ez, you know I don't like it when you lie. Come on, tell me truth,"

'Dammit.' Ezra mentally cursed. He hated it sometimes when his boyfriend could read through his words.

Silence and tension soon became the occupant of the room as the honor guard stared down at the Padawan, waiting for a response. It took a while, a good 20 minutes, until Ezra decided to speak up.

"I… I'm…" his voice quivered with his lips as he turned his head to avoid any eye contact. "…pregnant…"

Zeb was stunned. Did they ever do anything in that room? They were together, sure, but they still slept in separate bunks to not unlock the Lasat's inner lust. How did the blunette get pregnant then? And how was he able to get pregnant?

"B-But… But how—"

"A few months ago," Ezra sighed, finally looking up at the other. "We… the three of us, you, Kanan, and I, were told to stay here by Hera, who had to go out on a mission with Sabine and Chopper by Fulcrum. I was tired from Jedi Training, so… I went to our room to rest. When I woke up, you and Kanan had gotten bored, so I caught you guys drinking in the common room. Both of you were drunk and were telling me to join you, even if I was underaged. I just ignored you guys and went back to our cabin, but that night, you weren't really… yourself… and your actions were… I mean, you, uh…"

His cheeks went hot, and his eyes turned away again, a heavy pressure on his chest as he bit his bottom lip.

Zeb blinked at him, processing everything that was just told until a realization dawned upon him. His whole body tended and froze, his eyes widening.

"No… I didn't… d-did I…?"

Ezra knew that he had realized what he had done. He could tell that his lover felt guilty by the sound of his voice, making him feel sad and guilty too.

"K-Kinda…" he sighed. "I mean, yeah, you did. But don't worry! You didn't force me to… I mean, you did, but I… I let you, so it's consensual… n-not rape…"

"But still! Ezra…" Zeb held his hands, tears rolling down his eyes. "I did IT to you when I was drunk! I… and I forced you until you wanted to… it still feels so wrong…"

"Do you… want to abort it?" Ezra tried to hide the pain in his voice as he asked.

He knew abortion was painful and too risky for the likes of him. He was a male, after all. If it was bad for females, what else for him?

Another thing was that part of him wanted to keep the child, knowing that it still belonged to him and his beloved, but he knew that even if he wanted to keep it, it would be up to Zeb to stay together and take care of it.

Despite his efforts, however, Zeb's sharp ears heard his pain and sadness through the question, making him feel guiltier than before. He hugged him closer, nuzzling his neck for comfort. The embrace caused the boy to break into tears, which broke the Lasat's heart even more.

"What? No, no…" Zeb stroked his hair and kissed his cheek. "I didn't mean that, Ezra. It's just… are you alright with carrying a child of mine from an unpleasant event?"

Ezra saw his lover's guilt and regret of action through his peridot green eyes and smiled. "Zebby… it's still YOUR child, and I love you, no matter what,"

Zeb returned the smile, internally grateful that Ezra still loved him despite what had happened he did. He pressed his lips on his, stroking his boyfriend's still-flat belly as an instinct.

"Then I can't wait to see our future baby girl or boy~" he purred, making Ezra giggle and cuddle back happily and lovingly.

**_X_**

**_A/N Aaaaaand that's a wrap, people! Thank you for enjoying my first Star Wars Rebels story. More to come, though, do stay tuned! XD_**

**_Author-Chan, Out!_**


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